Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Enhancing Urban Sustainability through the Application of Permaculture Principles
EPA Grant Number: SU834758Title: Enhancing Urban Sustainability through the Application of Permaculture Principles
Investigators: Reyes, Manuel , Hayes, Randall , Alvarez, Carlos Montoya , Powell, Robert , Cundall, Michael , Carter, Scott , Young, Carmen , Higgs, Kori , Sparks, Annette , Creason, Shannon , Walker, Tariq , Patel, Jagruti , Battles, Raeni , Le, Kieu Ngoc
Institution: North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University , EARTH University
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Phase: II
Project Period: August 15, 2010 through August 14, 2012 (Extended to August 14, 2013)
Project Amount: $75,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet - Phase 2 (2010) Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Challenge Area - Sustainable and Healthy Communities , P3 Challenge Area - Air Quality , P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources , Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Awards , Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Objective:
The purpose of this project is to find an alternative campus landscaping that can replace a turf lawn with an ecologically friendly system. The objective was to show to university community that landscaping can be biologically engineered to benefit people, conserve the planet and provide prosperity (income) The scope was to establish multipurpose permaculture laboratories in three campuses for: (1) course instruction and experiential learning and (2) demonstrating the multifaceted benefits provided by permaculture to people, planet and prosperity.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
Permaculture systems in three campuses are an expected output of this project. However takes a long time to establish a permaculture system, and there are required certifications in permaculture. Also permaculture has its vagueness because it deals with a lot of philosophical issues, some bordering in belief systems. Hence, the team, in the spirit of P3 innovation, engineered and defined a new term, ‘natuculture.’ Natuculture™(pronouncednā-choo-culture) is any human made system that mimics nature in human disturbed landscapes. Natuculture™is a system that synergizes with and does not oppose nature. Natuculture™involves designing in urban landscapes biologically engineered systems that harmonizes with nature.Natuculture™makes ‘the unnatural natural.’ Natuculture™involves growing food while mimicking a forest. It is founded on intensifying food production, at the same time saving the soil, water and biologically diverse resources that food production is founded on. Natuculture™therefore is not just a garden but natuculture™is more than a garden. In most instances, a garden can even be the opposite of natuculture™since a garden connotes several practices that make ‘the natural unnatural’ like tilling, planting of non-native species, and use of artificial chemicals.Natuculture™is notpermaculture. When several natucultures™stabilize it may transform into permaculture.
We were able tocomplete a functional multifaceted natuculture experiential learning system outside laboratory (NELSOL)which distinctly demonstrated three micro-environmental systems: natuculture, brick, and lawn.
Natuculture
Volunteers and paid students are regularly seen in NELSOL making it their own yard away from home. It is anticipated that within the next five years many natuculture systems will sprout in different parts of the NCA&T campus. In fact, a building was torn down in front of the NELSOL. NCA&T administrators decided to convert the space into a green space. NCA&T facility has been assisting in maintaining the natuculture system at Sockwell Hall. Natuculture is being integrated in landscaping budget. It is anticipated that student volunteers, BioE faculty, and other undergraduate volunteers, together with NCA&T facility can maintain the system now that the grant is over. We will encourage that budget for lawn maintenance in other parts of the campus that can be used to establish other natuculture systems, especially in the growing green space part of the NCA&T campus. Several USDA grants were procured which has as a natuculture theme. Just recently, a USDA grant was funded to stabilize a stream which is just a five minute walk from NELSOL, another natuculture system that students and NCA&T community can learn from. Students can monitor stream water quality while hanging out in a riparian plane they will stabilize. Furthermore, from this project, NELSOL’s have been constructed at General Greene Elementary through installation of a rain garden and oasissofas, conservation agriculture managed vegetable beds; a middle school, and seven high schools in the State of NC. The anticipated system to be constructed at EARTH, Costa Rica did not pan out. During the implementation of the grant, EPA strongly suggested that the funds be invested within the USA. Hence, we spent the funds for EARTH to K-12 campuses. We invited our partner professor, Dr. Montoya, from Costa Rica to speak about permaculture in Costa Rica in middle, elementary and College students at NC. Furthermore, three students at NCA&T did internships at EARTH last summer 2011 and summer 2012 hosted by Dr. Montoya and funded by this grant.
Students and the NCA&T community are hanging out, observing, and appreciating the rich biological diversity, food, and relaxing pesticide free environment of natuculture has been providing. We estimated that we planted at least 150 species of flora and provided bird feeders and a bird pond. Because of these provisions the natuculture system has been visited by at least 17 bird species like the American gold finch, titmice, cardinal, blue bird, mourning dove, and Carolina chickadee; mammals like squirrel, ground hog, opossum, and domesticated cats; several insect critters like bees, butterflies, spiders, beetles and dragon flies: amphibians (i.e. frogs); and reptiles (i.e. lizards). Food consumed by community are figs, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, honey dew melon, raspberry, blue berry, black berry, tomatoes, squash, bell pepper, eggplant and many other horticulture products produced in the natuculture site. It is common for faculty and students to regularly pick figs and eat them as snack. The team distributes the horticulture products in at the NCA&T faculty and staff in campus for free.
Another advantage of natuculture is improvement of soil quality. The USDA cooperator from the USDA NRCS East Technical Center conducted workshops with the NCA&T natuculture team and several high school students on how to monitor soil quality. Several of these students are monitoring soil quality at NELSOL’s oasissofas. Oasissofas are 6 by 3 ft vegetable beds which use conservation agriculture technology to grow vegetables. Conservation agriculture, involves minimum soil disturbance, continuous mulch, and diverse species. A 32 bed replicated study comparing vegetable yield and soil quality in oasissofas management with traditional management was started at NELSOL October 2011. An international baccalaureate class at Smith High School constructed an identical oasissofas study at their campus in 2012. By April 2013, the oasissofa experiment was integrated as part of an IB capstone learning outcome requirement. Six other high schools constructed oasissofas studies in their campuses funded through P3 and also by the USDA.
We are continuing experiments and monitoring data on natuculture. The oasissofas studies, we are finding out that oasissofas vegetable yield are not significantly different than tradition tilled systems. However, preliminary non-conclusive evidences that soil health is improving as we measure soil health indicators like earth worm population, moisture content retention, soil temperature, color, nutrient content, pH, bulk density, soil compaction, soil respiration, and slaking. Oasissofas also have the added advantage of labor savings, since the land is no longer disturbed through use of rotovator, hoe, spade and shovel. It is only ‘hole’ and seed/transplant.
Brick surface
A brick surface is right across the natuculture system. Students learn about the heat that brick generate and the team observed how hot the brick area is during the summer, making it unusable as a hangout, study or relaxation area. It does not produce any living material making it a wasted space. Untreated surface runoff is diverted from the brick area into storm drains and then into the stream. This is compared to the natuculture raingarden system. We monitored its runoff generation and it zero, making it 100% efficient in infiltrating rainwater from ½ of Sockwell Hall’s roof.
Lawn
A lawn is also right across the natuculture system. We got lawn inputs of labor to mow, gasoline use, fertilizer and pesticide use, water use, and many other inputs just to make it green. We compared the cost of maintaining the lawn with the cost of maintaining a natuculture system. When conducting field trips at NELSOL, we point at the lawn and its maintenance requirements and how environmentally unsustainable it is, and compare it with the natuculture system.
We had two major USDA NIFA grants on natuculture totaling $287,000; and three other small USDA NIFA grants of about $12,000each. In addition we procured funding from the United Service Foundation of: i) building a outside classroom for Southern High School of Energy and Sustainability with living roof attached to it ($15,000); ii) oasissofa in a box ($15,000), an entrepreneurship for high school students to sell oasissofas in a box in neighborhoods with offers of paid service to grow their vegetables in their backyards; and iii) materials to integrate agriculture in high school STEM courses ($5000). We published and continuously updated natuculture website and facebook page. The website was visited close to 800 times and facebook page have 90 likes. We also printed 10,000 natuculture bookmarks, and have presented natuculture in several international, national, regional, and State conferences and meetings.
Conclusions:
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Multigenerational teams of students from different disciplines have been designing and implementing natuculture. They converted a conventional lawn (Picture 1) located on a highly trafficked area in campus near the football stadium, into a natuculture system. Instead of a lawn, it’s now a living display of a vibrant, biologically diverse, multifunctional, and ecologically complex “water and carbon dioxide harvester system” that requires close to zero use of artificial chemicals. Features of the system include a green roof, a rain garden, a rainwater harvester, a bird pond, bird feeders, and at least 150 species of flora rotated and/or permanently present in the site, including edible fruits such as figs, grapes, and apples. Countless species of fauna like an array of birds about 17 species are frequent visitors; with rapidly increasing variety of insects and arthropods that feed at the site, include bumblebees, spiders, and butterflies; together with mammals like squirrels, ground hog and opossum.
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Rainwater from the roof is directed to a rainharvester, which serves as the main source of irrigation for the site. Any overflow is directed to a rain garden that soaks it up before it can turn into runoff, recharging groundwater. The green roofed porch is illustrating urban heat reduction through the use of such ‘living’ roofs.In addition, 32 six-by-three-foot raised vegetable beds, which we call “oasis sofas,” were added to the site, part of a replicated scientific study that compares conservation agriculture with conventional methods to produce organic vegetables in urban areas. Conservation agriculture mimics a forest ecosystem, and the practice has been shown to provide a host of benefits: rainwater harvesting, healthier soil, increased crop yields, carbon sequestration, improve soil and water quality, less erosion, less reliance on fossil fuel and labor, and significant decreases in the use of artificial chemicals by providing natural fertilizers and disease and pest control.
We conducted studies on the economics of oasissofas, changing portions of turf grasses into oasissofas. We found that the homeowner may save close to a $1000 a year by converting a typical lawn with the added benefit of having fresh vegetable produce several times in a year. The prospects of high school and College students have paid service to convert a turf grass lawn into natuculture are good. Hence, we got that funding from the United Service Foundation as provision of seed money to start this entrepreneurship with partner high schools. NCA&T facilities are relaying that they are having some savings in mowing and maintaining lawns and have been working with us by integrating maintenance of NELSOL in their work schedule. NELSOL is turning out to be the ‘cleanest’ (in terms of artificial chemicals) place in campus and also 100% efficiency in infiltrating runoff from 1/3 of Sockwell Roof. The other 2/3 of Sockwell roof is still directly connected to a storm water drain. We will move to drain this in the living roof we are building or in the existing raingarden which is still have a lot of capacity. Biological diversity enhancement is an obvious plus of natuculture.
References:
- Barten, J. 2001. How well do lawns filter runoff? Dig deep for the answer. Focus 10,000 – Minnesota’s Lakeside Magazine. December 2001. Available at: http://lakeaccess.org/fertilizer.html. Accessed 17 December 2008.
- Bloch, M. 2007. Greener lawns. Available at: http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/70/1/Greener-lawns.html. Accessed 17 December 2008.
- Dietz, M.E. and J.E. Clausen. 2006. Saturation to improve pollutant retention in a rain garden. Environmental Science and Technology (40): 1335-1340.
- Eigenbrode, S.D. 1994. Host plant resistance and conservation of genetic diversity. Moscow, ID: University of Idaho. Available at: http://ipmworld.umn.edu/chapters/eigenbr.htm. Accessed 17 December 2008.
- Hanlon, M. 2007. World population becomes more urban than rural. Available at: http://www.gizmag.com/go/7334/. Accessed 21 January 2014.
- Kladivko, E.J. 1993. Earthworms and crop management. Agronomy Guide No. AY-279. Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service. Available at: http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/AY/AY-279.html. Accessed 17 December 18, 2008.
- MSSC. 2008. Minnesota stormwater manual: version 2. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota
- Pollution Control Agency. Available at http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/stormwater/stormwater-manual.html. Accessed 17 December 2008.
- Moorman, C.E. and S.D. Christopher. 2006. Saving the world one native plant at a time. In Proceedings, 11th Triennial National Wildlife & Fisheries Extension Specialists Conference, 53-56. Available at www.csrees.usda.gov/nea/nre/pdfs/fish_moorman1.pdf
- Mulvaney M.J., M.R. Reyes, C. Chan-Halbrendt, S. Boulakia, K. Jumpa, C. Sukvibool, and S. Sombatpanit (eds). Conservation Agriculture in Southeast Asia and Beyond. Special Publication No. 7, World Association of Soil and Water Conservation (WASWAC), Beijing, China, pp. 51-72. ISBN 978-0-0615-73926-7.
- NAPI. 2005. Permaculture. Tofield, AB, Canada: Northern Alberta Permaculture Institute. Available at: http://napi.ca/permaculture.htm. Accessed 17 December.
- NCDWQ. 1999. What is Stormwater? Raleigh, NC: Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Water Quality. Available at: http://h2o.enr.state.nc.us/su/what_is_stormwater.htm. Accessed 19 December 2008.
- Reyes, M.R. 2012. Natuculture: Biomimicry in Urban Landscapes. Available at: http://natuculture.org/. Accessed 21 January 2014.
- Wagger, M.G., M.L. Cabrera and N.N. Ranells. 1998. Nitrogen and carbon cycling in relation to cover crop residue quality. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 53(3) 214-218.
- Zachmann, J.E., D. R. Linden and C. E. Clapp. 1987. Macroporous infiltration and redistribution as affected by earthworms, tillage, and residue. Soil Science Society of America Journal 51:1580-1586.
Journal Articles on this Report : 1 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
Other project views: | All 9 publications | 1 publications in selected types | All 1 journal articles |
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Type | Citation | ||
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Gengenbach L. Putting theory in practice: the green scene--biological engineering students pursue sustainability on campus, turning North Carolina A&T blue-and-gold into green. Resource: Engineering and Technology for a Sustainable World 2011;18(4):7-9. |
SU834758 (2011) SU834758 (Final) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
Conservation agriculture, oasissofas, natuculture, rain gardenRelevant Websites:
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractP3 Phase I:
Enhancing Urban Sustainability through the Application of Permaculture Principles | Final ReportThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.