Conway’s small size and combination of full time faculty and part-time faculty working in the field allows the school to integrate new topics into the curriculum. For example, over the course of the past ten years the school has added food system plans to its roster of student projects, in response to increasing concerns about access to healthy food and the impact of industrial agriculture on the land. (Image above from 2010 Feed Northampton project)
Conway School student projects involving food systems planning include the following:
Food Security Plans & Food System Assessments
• Building Local Connections, Town of Concord, MA (2012) by Christina Gibson ’12 and Jamie Pottern ’12
• Franklin County Farmland & Foodshed Study, Franklin Regional Council of Governments, Franklin County, MA (2012) by Evelyn Lane ’12 and Laura Elizares ’12
• A Sonoran Oasis, International Sonoran Desert Alliance, Ajo, AZ (2011) by Ahron Lerman ’12, Susannah Spock ’12, and Sean Walsh ’11
• Homegrown in Tuscany, Spannocchia Foundation, Tuscany, Italy (2011) by Heloise Chandless ’11, Kate Cholakis ’11, and Erin Hepfner ’11
• Feed Northampton, Northampton Food Security Group, Northampton, MA (2010) by Abrah Dresdale ’10, Tom Jandernoa ’10, Josiah Simpson ’10, and Michael Yoken ’10
• Cultivating Resilience, The Central Connecticut River Valley Institute & Apios Institute, Shelburne Falls, MA (2009) by Fiona Dunbar ’09, Alex Hoffmeier ’09, and Suzanne Rhodes ’09
Urban Agriculture Plans
• A Plan Takes Root, City of Brockton, MA (2017) by Andrew Kilduff ’17 and Tim Tensen ’17
• Food in the City, Springfield Food Policy Council, Springfield, MA (2014) by Emily Berg ’14, Abigail Elwood ’14, and Marie Macchiarolo ’14
• Setting the Table: Towards Greater Food Security in Lowell, City of Lowell, MA (2013) by Amy Nyman ’13, Sierra McCartney ’13, and
Beth Schermerhorn ’13
A Conway student team proposed strengthening Lowell, Massachusetts’ food system through community resource centers, backyard gardens (including some as large as whole blocks), rooftop gardens, public orchards, community fish farms, dealing with soil contamination, recycling waste, healthy corner stores, and changes to zoning. The sketch above illustrates what might be achieved by removing backyard fences, opening up large expanses of land to be shared for gardening.Interested in learning more about the Conway School’s curriculum approach to food systems? Fill out the form below to download a short piece about the application of landscape design and planning to food systems work.
