Youth Council Poll: May the Best Garden Win!

Green Valley Project’s Youth Council was tasked with creating a garden design to be placed at Nordhoff High School. The members of the Youth Council splintered off into teams to create various garden designs. We held an Instagram voting poll for the community to decide which garden design they’d like to see. The community decided on…the Rain Masters design!

Below are descriptions of each garden design. If you could pick, which garden design would win you over?

Team “Rain Master” Garden Idea: Their garden design’s focus was to create a rain garden to drain and divert excess water into the soil.

Team “Rain Master’s” garden design won the community over, as they had the most votes from the Instagram poll.  The members of the team are former Nordhoff students who were concerned about the lack of proper water drainage on the campus. As depicted in the image, the water by the baseball field pool, causing the walkway to become muddy. Thus making it messy, and deterring people from walking through the area. Their solution to this problem is to create a rain garden, which would drain any excess water. The water would then be diverted to the soil, thus replenishing the aquifers and plants.

In addition, the team would like to install a garden surrounding the water garden in order to beautify the walkway. They want to plant trees, bright poppies, beautiful roses, and a variety of wildflowers. Not only would the garden add aesthetic value to the area, it would provide a sanctuary for both the community and pollinators!

Team “Rose Way” Garden Idea: Their garden design highlights the California Wild Rose, for its beauty, and biodiversity promoting features.

Team “Rose Way’s” amazing garden design focuses on planting drought tolerant plants, as well as providing an aesthetically pleasing garden. They state that their chosen plants would “make the biggest environmental impact.” The plants in their garden design would promote biodiversity on Nordhoff’s campus.

The team wants to install signs in their garden to educate students, and the community on the importance of beautiful, but functional gardens. The central plant of the garden would be the California Wild Rose, as it both is aesthetically pleasing and pollinator friendly. California Wild Roses attract several types of pollinators such as: “butterflies, caterpillars, birds, bees, and moths.” The team wants to stress the importance of an appealing, fragrant rose garden being environmentally beneficial as well.

Team “Corner Oasis” Garden Idea: Their garden design focuses on water conserving features such as: a rain garden, and a bioswale.

Team “Corner Oasis’s” garden design is equally as wonderful, and their goal was to create a garden that conserves water and provides an escape/ “oasis!” They state that their garden design is a “sustainably, resourceful garden designed to be a ‘getaway refuge.’” Their garden design would include a bioswale, which would aid in conserving water. This water would then be diverted to the soil, and to the plants. In addition, the bioswale would help provide water to the garden during dry seasons. The team’s goal is to demonstrate to the community how gardens can be both beautiful and functional.