Independent Study 1

1. Log: 12/1, 12/8, 12/15, 1/5, 1/12, 1/19, 1/26, 2/2, 2/9 (12:38pm-1:30pm)
2. Evidence is outside the counseling office.(it really has all the teachers interested :))
3. Literal: I, Carla Munoz, affirmed that i completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work.
I wouldn't use the word completed for this project mainly because it is meant to be on going even after i graduate. So far ive been successful with building a wooden raised bed with my own two hands as well as gathering a group of students that i can now consider as gardeners. Together we've met each wednesday since december to gather supplies, tools and seeds to prepare for this spring. Paul has been kind to direct us in the right direction with his own knowledge of gardening. The group has also completed planting gladiolus bulbs all around the campus. Right now the raised bed is in the process of being fertilized and planted on. I consider this a great task that has been prepared just in time for spring.

Interpretive: I would say that the project has started the moment i started researching on where the school garden could be done in the first place. It came to be a challenge to try to start a garden when our school campus is located on a parking lot. I consulted with Ms. Martinez many times to discuss the possibility of starting a school garden in the first place. She stated i was only limited to the school's quad. While doing senior project research in the library i came across the book square foot gardening. Raised beds were the answer! My dad and I worked together to make a replica of a square foot gardening raised bed. My dad built the box and i had to take it apart and build it myself incase my group of gardeners want to build another raised bed on their own. Trying to get the group of gardeners was a challenge on its own, but i wasn't alone on the hunt. Mrs. Matthews was generous enough to inform her sophomores about what the project was and if they were interested. It only took a few posters and announcements to get atleast a decent sized group to get things started. I researched on what vegetables and flowers we could plant on the raised bed along with what fertilizers would work and what wouldn't. I spent time searching for seeds and fertilizers keeping in mind that everything should be organic. The group has done some planting already and we are gonna keep at it till we see some results from all this preparation.