InTERPative

Design:
Gwynn Park High
School
Team Members
 Sam

● Sophomore
● GVPT major
● I am a 20 year old from Rhode Island, and I chose
University of Maryland because I wanted a large school
feel that was also close to DC. I am a former soccer player,
football player, and squash player. I went to a very small
high school, about 100 in my class, so coming to UMD was
a huge change for me. I love going to the beach during the
summer time and skiing when it gets cold. I am the son of a
first-generation immigrant and am proud of that history.
When I live at home I live with my father, mother, and
younger sister.
 Christy

● Junior
● Architecture Major
● I am from Beltsville, Maryland, and I am a first generation college
student. My favorite food is tacos and pupusas. I like to workout, play
basketball, and also paint/draw in my free time. I have a little side
hustle on that! I chose architecture as my major because I like to
design and draw things and sort of like math as well, so that basically
correlates with what my major is like.
 Jun

● Junior
● Mechanical Engineering
● Born in South Korea, raised in Woodbine,
Maryland. Came to UMD to pursue engineering
and Air Force ROTC, as they offered best of both.
Some of my hobbies are playing tennis,
swimming, hockey, and being adventurous. I
always loved playing with legos and fixing things
which led me to choose engineering as a major. I
also love traveling and hope to travel to many
more countries after this pandemic is over.
 Yunus

● Sophomore
● Physics
● I am from Silver spring MD. I'm a very
outdoors type person and love to play sports. I
transferred from Montgomery college so this is
my first semester at UMD. I love math and
science and my hobbies are playing sports and
binge watching tv shows.
 Charles

● Sophomore
● Physics and Astronomy Double Major
● Key Contribution:
● I was born in Poughkeepsie, NY, but grew up in Austin, TX I'm a 50
yo, retired Army SFC, veteran, married for >25 years, with a
daughter going to Towson and a partner going to AACC for now. I
currently live in Shady Side, MD. I am mad for physics /astronomy
and am a proud science nerd! My favorite music is big band/swing
which is also very odd. I'm me, all the time and everywhere. I'm
looking forward to getting to know my fellow Terps.
 Project Vision Statement

Our team intends to provide the students and

faculty of Gwynn Park High school a landscape
design that fosters student curiosity and desire
to learn about urban agriculture, a welcoming
space to learn the lessons of environmental
stewardship, and empowers all participants to
improve their own food security by stressing
the benefits of committed effort and
overcoming hardships.
Personas
 Sam - Educator

Educators, whether they are teaching agriculture or not, will use this space to promote
sustainability and healthy living. For example, an older science teacher who wants to
know more about gardening could find multiple uses for this garden. First, this teacher
can use their professional background to create activities and projects using this
community garden. However, if they are less knowledgeable about the actual planting
and growing aspect then they can learn themselves and apply these new skills in their
own backyard. Not only does this garden have the potential to teach students, but it can
teach educators too, and these adults will benefit from implementing this healthy
lifestyle into their daily lives outside of Gwynn Park.
 Yunus - Agriculture Student

The agriculture students are gonna be able to use this space as a learning
ground. Having this site in which agriculture students can have a place to
learn and experiment. Giving them the opportunity to get hands-on
experience. They will be able to know what type of vegetation they can
grow in but they will also be able plant vegetation around the site while
also taking care of the farm animal like the pigs. This way these students
can get hands-on experience trying many different methods instead of
being in a classroom learning from books. Also, using this site for the
agriculture student to make a community farm. Which can bring life and
beauty into the community and bring everyone together.
Jun - Non-Agriculture Students

I am a student at Gwynn Park High School. As a student with zero background in agriculture, I
am curious to learn more about agriculture through the newly developed site in our school. I
might not have the same knowledge as other students with an agricultural background but I
wish to learn about gardening and sustainability through this opportunity. Maybe my school will
offer classes regarding sustainability, gardening, and agriculture where we can learn first hand
through the newly developed area. I believe that this experience will be helpful to all students
and faculty of Gwynn Park, about things like sustainability and gardening that are important to
our future.
Christy - Community Members
Community members are at the space because they either work or volunteer there to
help out in the space. Sometimes they’ll even visit the site just to see how things are
going around the space. The project affects them by the amount of encouragement
around the community and how everyone gathers around together to spend quality
time. Usually community members will come during the mornings or afternoons, also
depending on weather. In any case, they will meet at any time most likely. Community
members should feel safe in the space because of how spacious it is and how it is a
clean/safe environment for others.
 Charles - Future Farmers of America Club
Members
FFA club members are special members of the GPHS student body. We are
volunteers, class members, and supporters of this project. This project
would allow FFA members to experience agricultural education firsthand. It
will allow us to put what we have learned into practice and take our
education to a far higher level. Currently, FFA doesn’t have a dedicated
space to hold meetings. We meet in the cafeteria on Tuesday and
Wednesday afternoons. Having a location within the project to hold
meetings would really be great. We also hope that you will set aside an area
for us to decide what to plant and manage. Maybe the design could have a
couple of phases that lets us decide what to do with the space? Allowing us
to lead in agriculture is a big part of FFA. Letting future phases of the site be
dictated by us also allows us to plan and work together to accomplish our
goals.
 Site Inventory

Physical Attributes:
● Cool weather climate which is
considered a 7a zone.
● Slope/elevation
○ Around 240ft above sea level
○ Little to no slope, but creates
puddles on the site
● Soil
● Could create a bioretention
● Bird feeders, benches
Site Inventory

Biological Attributes:
● Vegetations and wildlife
○ Local trees and forest around the site

Cultural Attributes:
● Athletic fields
Football fields and baseball fields located around the site
Site Analysis
 Physical

● Climate
○ The climate of this area falls under the 7a zone which has a
minimum average temperature of 0° to 5° F.
○ Since this area has a medium length of growth season. It has
potential to grow many different kinds of vegetations to grow.
Especially cool weather vegetables like broccoli, carrots, and
lettuce.
○ In this area, the cold season usually lasts about 3 months
from december 1st to march 3rd. While the hottest season
lasts for 3.5 months from May 30 to september 14th.
Physical
● Water
○ Due to having none to little slope, water
entry and exit is hard to be determined.
● Water would likely flow away from
the building
○ There are multiple wetlands that are
located in the surrounding area.
○ Three stream centers and drainage are
located on the site.
● No rivers or streams located on or
off site.
○ Bioretention by where the pig is
currently located
 Physical
● Soil
○ The soil type consists of the land complex and
is also based on the slope. “AQUASCO-URBAN LAND
COMPLEX, 0 TO 5 PERCENT SLOPES), BaA (BELTSVILLE SILT
LOAM, 0 TO 2 PERCENT SLOPES), AND BuB (BELTSVILLE URBAN
LAND COMPLEX, 0 TO 5 PERCENT SLOPES).”
(http://mncppc.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=4&ID=77
51&MeetingID=1490)
○ The trees save forested areas, rural roads,
utilities, water quality, etc. Water has been the
main pollutant on the site based off of its
water flow that’s apart from the building itself.
Soil’s fertility reveals the sustainable
outcomes.
Physical
● Landform
○ Topography (elevation, slope, aspect)
● Mostly 240 ft above sea level,
some slight contour lines but not
a large change in elevation
● 3 very small instances of slope
between 15% and 25% in the
northern part of the land, other
than that there is relatively no
slope
 Physical

● Microclimate
○ The areas most affected by shade are the areas to the
north of the main buildings. Those areas are already
impervious ground covered by parking lots and
therefore not available for site selection.
○ There is a significant shaded area to the north of the
forested area at the southeast end of the football
stadium that would render it unusable.
○ Slope is not a large consideration for the entirety of
this site.
○ There are minimal water features that could affect
microclimates for this site.
○ Warming effects within the project area are limited to
areas immediately adjacent to the main building.
 Biological

● Vegetation and wildlife

○ Many wildlife species such as reptiles,
birds, insects, and mammals are all
designated to be Threatened or
Endangered in Maryland. For example,
a white-tailed deer, birds, squirrels,
frogs, etc are endangered species and
they are around the wildlife area
based off of the vegetation shown on
the map.
Cultural

● Legal
○ Permission needed from Gwynn Park High School
and Prince George Country
○ Zoning classification RR: Rural Residential
● This means that there is the ability for
development
 Cultural

● Buildings and Infrastructure

○ The attached image
displays buildings in
brown, paved surfaces
in gray, athletic areas in
green, and other
structures in tan.
○ The pale yellow areas
indicate spaces where
no human structures or
activities are currently
ongoing.
 Cultural

● Athletic Fields
○ 3 fields located on site (one
football field, two baseball
fields)
○ 2 additional fields located off
site, on a middle school down
the road (2 baseball fields)
 Cultural

● Access and Circulation

○ Identify the roads, sidewalk, paths, and
trails
○ The 2 main roads that surround the site
is Brandywine road and Dyson road
○ Not much sidewalks on the school
ground and surrounding roads however
there is a lot of pavement to walk on.
○ According to PGatlas map there are 2
main trails around the school identified
in the figure below with 2 different
colors lime green and Red.
Bubble Diagram
 Concept diagram #1

● Garden bed (Green)

○ 4ft by 6 ft
● Sheds (Red)
○ Reuse the shed that was already there
○ Shed for equipment
○ Shed for storage
● Compost (Brown)
○ 4ft by 4ft
○ Compost bin for plants
● Benches (Dark Grey)
○ 3ft by 6ft
● 2 Bird Feeders (Orange)
○ One near the forest
○ Other closer to the football field
● Walking trail (grey with black outline)
○ Starts from parking lot leading to forest
in the back
● Trees
○ Maple trees and Pine trees
● Pond
○ Fish and turtles
○ Radius of 10ft
Precedent Images
 Final Plan

Key:
Green circles = Trees
Gray = gravel pathway
Light gray rectangle = greenhouse
Dark gray rectangle = Benches
Green Rectangles = beds
Orange circles = Bird feeder
White oval = Pond/puddle
Pink square = pigs and chicken (livestock)
Brown Square = compost (pig/chicken
mulch)
Black line = fences
Red rectangles = sheds
Blue rectangle = canopy
Purple = Flowers
Orange = Vegetables
Yellow = Fruits
 Design Narrative

The intention of our design concept is to facilitate the education of Gwynn Park High School students by creating a
multi-phased concept that builds upon itself at the rate that the students can tackle. Key elements that contribute to this
design include budgetary restraints, time limitations, future expansion and site maintenance and upkeep. We seek to take
advantage of the natural attributes of the site by building a pond in the natural water collection point, establishing locations for
the animals and introducing composting and basic growing areas immediately and expanding into greater spaces as
permissible.

When entering the site, students will be greeted by the frog pond and growing beds. Further along the site, they will
discover their composting center and tool storage. Ample space has been set aside for the existing livestock and planned
expansion. A sitting area with bird feeders to encourage pollination of plantings is located midway down the project so that
students may observe the natural processes as well as take a short break from their exertions. All growing spaces will take
advantage of multi-tier plantings and will be edged with local flora. Later phases for this project will include large spaces for the
planting of flowers, vegetables, and fruits and berries. At the southern end of the project, a second and more robust outdoor
classroom has been designed and includes more birdfeeders.

It is our sincere hope that we have provided the students and faculty of Gwynn Park High School with a site that they
and the surrounding community can enjoy for many years to come.