The Professional Outreach Project: A Collaboration Between the Longwood Graduate Program and the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services

Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Kona Ballroom
Raakel Toppila , University of Delaware and Longwood Gardens, Newark, DE
Rebecca S. Pineo , Longwood Graduate Program, University of Delaware and Longwood Gardens, Newark, DE
Kate Baltzell , University of Delaware and Longwood Gardens, Newark, DE
James Hearsum , University of Delaware and Longwood Gardens, Newark, DE
Ashby Leavell , University of Delaware and Longwood Gardens, Newark, DE
Aubree Pack , University of Delaware and Longwood Gardens, Newark, DE
Zoe Panchen , University of Delaware, Newark, DE
Dongah Shin , University of Delaware, Neward, DE
Laura Vogel , University of Delaware and Longwood Gardens, Newark, DE
Felicia Yu , University of Delaware and Longwood Gardens, Newark, DE
Robert E. Lyons, Ph.D , Longwood Graduate Program, Univ of Delaware, Newark, DE
The Professional Outreach Project is a six-month service project carried out by the Longwood Graduate Program Fellows that benefits a regional public horticulture institution, while offering the students a valuable experiential learning opportunity. The 2010 project was a collaboration with the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) in New Castle, Delaware and a number of other public and non-profit organizations. An Advisory Committee comprised of the Garden Project Manager (Plant Industries Administrator for the Delaware Department of Agriculture), the Director of the Longwood Graduate Program, and two professionals in landscape design and community garden development provided guidance and oversight. The students developed a conceptual plan for the proposed therapeutic and community garden on a one-acre vacant lot in the center of the DHSS Holloway Campus. Garden elements included a learning and healing space for residents of the Delaware Psychiatric Center and other DHSS recovery programs, as well as flexible garden space for employees of the Holloway campus, local garden clubs, and community service groups. Throughout the project, the students worked closely with institutional stakeholders to determine who the garden will serve and how to best meet their needs. A focus group with key stakeholders, interviews with Psychiatric Center residents, and an employee survey informed the development of a design program, which identified a prioritized set of garden requirements. The students then led a design charrette with designers and stakeholders to craft ideas for the garden layout. Finally, the knowledge gained from six months of investigation culminated in a functional diagram, conceptual plan, recommendations document, and idea image panels for the future garden, all of which were presented at a final meeting of project participants, including the Delaware Secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Social Services. The poster will present specific project details and examples of tangible deliverables produced by this successful collaboration.
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