OKANAGAN COLLEGE VERNON CAMPUS

Demons t r at i on
Gar den Pr oj ect
Okanagan College -
Vernon Campus is
embarking on a project
to create an educational
space to promote
sustainable practices in
an effort to preserve,
stimulate and promote
agricultural and
ecological ventures in
the Okanagan Valley.
This is a Conceptual Design developed in partnership between Element Eco-Design and Okanagan College to explore the
possibilities for a demonstration garden project.
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Project Objectives
Site Overview
Water Design
Passive Water Harvesting
Access Design
Outdoor Classroom and Social Space
Greenhouse
Community Farm
College Garden Plots
Food Forest and Native Plant Gardens
Implementation Plan
Budget
Summary
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Table of Contents
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PROJECT OBJECTIVES
Okanagan College - Vernon Campus is embarking on a project to
create an educational space to promote sustainable practices in an
effort to preserve, stimulate and promote agricultural and
ecological ventures in the Okanagan Valley.
The Demonstration Garden Project will incorporates the
principles of sustainable development where research,
educational programming, and community participation can
interact to advance the social, economic and environmental
aspects of local sustainable agricultural and food systems
practices and projects.
Okanagan College will be able to use the site for new program
offerings, research in sustainable development and agricultural/
ecological practicums. Faculty members will have a space to teach
in an outdoor setting to demonstrate practical applications of
theoretical material. Students will benefit from hands-on
experience, onsite research and examples of industry best
practices. Community members will have a place to gather, learn
and benefit from the therapeutic experience of growing plants.
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Okanagan College Demonstration Site
SITE OVERVIEW
The Demonstration Garden space is
roughly 1.5 acres of gently rolling
hillside.
Site soils are well-drained sandy loams
that are suitable for growing most
agricultural crops. Laboratory analyses
of site soil samples indicate potentially
fertile conditions that will benefit from
the addition of organic matter through
sustainable soil management techniques.
The sites south facing slope receives
generous sunlight and is climatically
suitable to the widest range of crops but
represents a challenge for efficient
irrigation. It will be important select
crops adapted to the site climate and soil
conditions.
A site map will be available to visitors to use as a
learning tool as they tour the site. Other educational
tools such as informational plaques and species
labels will be located throughout the site.
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WATER
Both passive and active watering features will be
constructed to provide irrigation to crops in the most
efficient manner possible. Onsite passive water harvesting
features include swales, curb cuts into rain gardens, wicking
beds and rain barrels. Active water features include a variety
of irrigation systems custom tailored to each crop for
efficient watering, including drip irrigation.
Bio-swales have already been installed along the perimeter
of the site to direct excess storm water to the engineered
drainage system in the valley below the site. Additionally,
several contour swales will be installed to collect excess
water runoff, prevent erosion and pacify water flow on the
landscape. The water will be held evenly along the entire
length (east-west) of the site to allow the water to infiltrate
into the ground. This will keep the soil moist for longer
periods following rain events and help recharge ground
water sources. Excess water from the contour swales will be
sent into the perimeter swale through a simple overflow at
each end of the contour swale. All swales will also serve as
main access ways around the site.
Curb cuts in the south side of the parking lot will allow
storm water to be harvested and stored in rain gardens. The
Conceptual Design Details
A contour swale is a Permaculture technique
for passively harvesting rain and surface
runoff. The swale works to distribute water
evenly across the landscape, resulting in an
efcient system that aids in both irrigating
and drought proong the landscape.
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rain gardens will be constructed
around existing trees to
supplement their irrigation and
process storm water. Excess water
from the rain gardens will flow
over level-sill spillways to be
caught by the highest contour
swale and directed appropriately
across the landscape or into the
perimeter swale.
Rainwater represents a source of
nitrogen for plants. Rain barrels
will be attached to all building
roofs downspouts on the site to
collect rainwater run-off. This
water can be gravity fed into the
community garden for
supplemental watering to reduce
the use of irrigation water.
Overflows from the rain barrels
will be directed to the contour
swale via French drains.
Irrigation/drainage specialist will
be consulted to ensure efficient
design of crop watering and site
drainage systems. An irrigation
main line has been constructed on
the site and lateral lines will be
run to individual crops. Emitters
best suited to each crop will be
used to reduce water
consumption. Irrigation controls
can be used to optimize water use
depending on humidity levels,
current rainfall and soil moisture.
Weather meters can be installed
onsite and connected to irrigation
controls to more accurately
distribute water to each specific
crop.
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PASSIVE WATER
HARVESTING
Rainwater runoff will be captured
as high as possible in the
landscape and stored in either rain
barrels or the soil. The passive
rainwater harvesting swales will
spread the water out evenly across
the landscape allowing rainwater
to infiltrate into the soil, as
opposed to running off. The land
will retain moisture longer and
creating an evenly hydrated
landscape. These systems will be
connected to each other via level
sill spillways so the excess in one
portion is used further down the
hill by the next feature creating a
cascading effect that protects
against both drought and flood
conditions.
Conceptual Design Details
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ACCESSIBILITY
Site topography and accessibility were key components to the design of the site. The main site paths are either 4 or 8 wide
to accommodate wheelchairs, large groups or small machinery. Compacted crusher chip was chosen to keep the paths
permeable for water harvesting while still maintaining a solid surface for accessibility. The community farm was located
closest to the parking lot were the slope was minimal allowing optimal accessibility for community members. The
community farm also contains raised beds that provide members with mobility concerns with a place to garden safely.
Picnic tables and boulder seating are located throughout the site to provide members with a place to rest.
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OUTDOOR CLASSROOM & SOCIAL SPACE
The northwest corner of the site can be transformed into a
mixed teaching and social space for faculty, students and
community users. A semi-circular seating space facing
north will provide a space for instruction, presentations or
social gathering. Shade trees to the Southwest will provide
erosion controls as well as afternoon relief from hot
summer sun. A shed roof structure can be added to
provide additional shelter for instructors.
Tables with built-in chairs can be added to provide a space
for users to enjoy lunch, work on projects or attend
lectures. This social space represents a multi-functional
space where college users and community members can
come together to share ideas and the space.
Conceptual Design Details
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Adding a Social Space to the
site will provide an outdoor
ar ea f or st udent s and
i nst r uct or s t o mi x wi t h
community members. This
exchange works to build
rel ati onshi ps and create
bel ongi ng for communi ty
members, students and staff.
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GREENHOUSE
In the short term, a small-unheated
hoop house is recommended for
starting crops and season extension.
The hoop house will be a 20 x 30
greenhouse constructed out of 1
conduit hoops attached to stakes
driven into the ground. Dimensional
lumber will frame in the ends of the
structure and provide lateral support
between the hoops. A 12mm
interwoven poly is recommended to
cover the structure. The interwoven
poly has a longer lifespan, is better
suited to harsh weather (snow and
hail) and acts as a partial shade cloth
in direct sunlight.
For a long-term solution for a storage
shed, processing area, teaching area
and greenhouse; a 15 x 60 shed
attached to a 15 x 60 poly tunnel or
a 30 x 60 passive solar greenhouse
is recommended. This building
would integrate many functions for
the site as well as provide an area
that would be passively heated. This
structure would also function as a
four season building that could be
used year round and integrated into
both fall and winter curriculum. This
kind of structure represents
sustainable, innovative, integrated
building design that would serve as
an educational and community
meeting space. Successful working
models are operational in British
Columbia including David
Thompson Secondary School Solar
Greenhouse.
As the College currently has a
residential building program this
project represents an opportunity to
provide hands-on experience for
students to help design and build
this structure.
Conceptual Design Details
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In the future a Passive Solar
Greenhouse can be added to
align the growing season with
the education season. The
rear of the greenhouse can
be used to store supplies and
as a wash house to clean
produce before distribution.
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COMPOST SYSTEM
Basic compost bins will be located next to the greenhouse,
this central location encourages all users to take part in the
composting process. The compost bays will be made up of
large concrete Lock-Blocks and will be durable and long-
lasting. Ample access to and around the compost bins will
allow for bulk deposits and machine mixing when
necessary. It is also recommended that compost covers are
used to manage moisture, heat and to deter pests. The
compost covers are specially designed black fabric covers
that are durable and light, the covers can be used to either
allow moisture to enter the compost pile or the can easily
be flipped over in order to shed moisture away from the
pile.
Conceptual Design Details
TOOL SHED
For tool storage for the community farm and students, a
10 x 13 shed is proposed. This shed should be modular
design, non-permanent structure that can be moved as the
need arises. To start with, a shed building donated by BC
Housing will be used for tool storage. In the future, a shed
that contains a door to accommodate wheelchair access
and at least one window for natural light is recommended.
One interior light and at least one 110 V plug should be
present indoor and one outdoor. The shed roof can be used
to capture water in barrels for later use on the community
farm. Excess water will be directed into a main swale to
help hydrate the landscape.
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The Community Farm space will be a natural, beautiful, space designed to create an atmosphere for learning and growing. This space includes winding paths,
seating and shade trees to provide both productive function and positive experience for the users.
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Conceptual Design Details
WICKING BEDS
Wicking beds are a great way to capture and store rain
water to passively water raised beds in the Community
Garden. Wicking beds are raised beds with a layer of pond
liner or 12mm poly in the bottom 2/3 of the bed. The bed
has a 2 PVC or ABS perforated pipe installed in the bottom
of the bed. The pipe is covered with loose gravel or coarse
sand up to 6-10 deep. A layer of landscape fabric is placed
over the gravel or sand and the raised bed is filled with soil.
The soil will act as a wick and draw the water up from the
bottom, reducing evaporation and frequency of watering.
Each bed is equipped with an overflow that can be attached
to the next bed to act as the water source. When connected
in series these beds can distribute water efficiently to a large
number of beds and reduce overall irrigation demands.
COMMUNITY FARM
The Community Farm area will provide users with a space
to grow produce collectively and largely for donation. The
Community Farm will fall under the Greater Vernon
Community Garden Network as another type of
community garden. The Regional District of the North
Okanagan (Parks Recreation and Culture) supports
community gardens through policy in a number of ways
including helping to acquire land and establishing
agreements with land owners.
The day to day operations of the Community Farm will be
managed under a lead agency who will participate with
several partner organizations to guide its development and
operations. The Community Farm will be inclusive and
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accessible to people of all abilities and
will focus on skill-building and
recreation. The Community Farm
partner organizations intend to share
resources and develop the capacity to
hire a coordinator for the site. This will
allow programming, training, and
volunteer management that will
benefit all of the users and contribute
to the sustainability of the farm and
demonstration garden.
The Community Farm area will utilize
raised beds for accessibility and ease,
as well as plots for larger-scale
production of annual vegetables.

The large plots will be laid out
equidistant from the first contour
swale, a system referred to as Keyline
Design. The garden beds will work to
passively keep the water onsite and
slowly direct the water from the wetter
valleys out to the drier ridges. This
system of cropping allows for
maximum water infiltration. Keyline
often utilizes no-till organic farming
methods, which use minimal
disturbances to harvest and cultivate.
Keyline also seeks to improve soil
depth, biological life and fertility.
Although Keyline Design is
predominantly used in large-scale
agriculture the principles still hold true
for this smaller scale design.
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COLLEGE GARDEN PLOTS
Similar to the Community Farm Large
Plots, the College Garden Plots will be laid
out based on Keyline Design: equidistant
from the contour swale. The College
Garden Plots can be used for sustainable
farming practicums, horticulture training,
incubator plots for new farmers and
research and development for new crops or
agricultural methods. This area provides
hands-on experience for students with an
ideal growing climate and view
overlooking Kalamalka Lake. The site is
sure to become a popular destination for
students and teachers to practice
horticulture, viticulture, farming and
gardening.
Keyline design is a technique developed in
Australia in answer to dry, fire prone landscapes.
This strategy encourages even water distribution
for crops and helps to rebuild soil fertility.
Conceptual Design Details
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INTENSIVE ORCHARD SYSTEM
This area will be used to practice intensive orchard planting as used by many large commercial growers in the Okanagan.
Students will gain valuable, industry relevant skills that will help them to obtain jobs on commercial orchards. The hands
on learning will create more demand for the students receiving the training and reduce training costs of growers.
Skills gained by students will be:
Propagating
Planting
Pruning/Tree Care
Organic Fertilizing
Integrated Pest
Management
Harvesting
Okanagan College will benefit from
large amounts of fruit being grown
on a small piece of land which can
be consumed on campus, sold to
cover costs of maintaining the farm
or donated to local non-profit
groups.
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FOOD FOREST
A food forest represents a long-term,
diverse, self-fertile food solution for both
residential and commercial agriculture.
Food forests are a mix of traditional
North American agricultural system that
incorporates both perennial and annual
food, fuel, fibre and fodder crops into
one system.
Food forests are based on the natural
architecture of the forest (trees, shrubs,
herbs, vines, ground covers and root
crops) to create an agriculture based on
natural forest ecosystems.
Food forests play with different stages of
natural ecological succession and choose
appropriate species to create productive
food growing systems based on existing
environmental conditions (light, water,
aspect, soil type and topography).
Productive species are chosen (fruit, nut
or forestry trees) and are interplanted
with support species to provide for all
the needs of the productive species
(nitrogen fixation, nutrient
accumulation, pest deterrent, beneficial
insect attractor and mulch plants).
This food forest will be located down
slope on the southeast section of the
site. The food forests location was
chosen so it does not compete for light
with surrounding crops. It requires less
attention so it is best placed furthest
away, planted along a natural drainage
so the trees will receive supplemental
natural watering. It will also create a
noise buffer from the road.
NATIVE PLANT GARDEN
The Okanagan is host to many beautiful,
beneficial plants that have been used by
Indigenous tribes for centuries. These
plants are perfectly adapted to this
environment and require very little
supplemental watering so they are
perfectly placed further away from the
main gardens and they will receive
enough runoff from storm water to
sustain themselves once established.
The Native Plant Garden can be used by
instructors to explore the beneficial
qualities of these plants. Workshops can
be held on topics such as:
Wildcrafting
Herbology
Xeriscaping/Native Plant
Garden Design
Efficient Irrigation Systems
Students, teachers and community
members can meander their way
through the garden to view this buffet of
local food and medicine. Rock benches
will be placed strategically to allow a
place for rest, observation or
contemplation.
Conceptual Design Details
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APIARY
The apiary will be located at the
southern point of the site, near the
food forest and discovery area.
The apiary will provide valuable
pollination to all species onsite.
The apiary will also allow an area
for users to learn about bee
keeping, harvesting honey and the
essential services bees provide to
our natural environment. The
apiary will be located amongst
trees, shrubs and water to provide
a comfortable environment for the
colony.
Food forest species are selected for the
role they play, this includes a mix of both
productive species(fruit, nut and berry
crops) as well as support species(nitrogen
fixation, mulch plants and mineral
accumulation).
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In Permaculture, all developments
are designed and built according to
the principles of:
Water
Access
Structures
The first step in development will be
to have the area fenced to keep out
wildlife. Once the fence and
appropriate gates are installed to
allow machine access, the paths and
swales should be installed to address
storm water runoff as well as access
to all of the areas of the
Demonstration Gardens (Phase 1).
The access ways will frame the
various sites and it will be to the
discretion of the College and their
partners as to what areas are
developed next.
Irrigation has been broken up into
each component of the system. The
individual irrigation lines can be
added as the development proceeds
but the initial irrigation rough-ins
and distribution boxes should be
installed at this time to utilize the
equipment onsite.
Phase 2 includes the Greenhouse,
Compost Site and Community Farm
which represents working from the
top down to establish infrastructure.
The Greenhouse and Compost Site
will allow gardening operations to
commence. The Community Farm
can be installed as community
partners, funds and time become
available.
Phase 3 includes the College Farm
Sites, which can remain fallow, the
Food Forest and other
Demonstration areas. These areas
can be added as time, money,
resources and labour becomes
available. The Food Forest
represents a long-term commitment
and will not start to produce for
many years so the sooner it is
installed the sooner it can be used as
an active demonstration site. The
other demonstration areas including
the Butterfly Garden, Native Plant
Area and Rain Gardens can be
added to the system as resources
and budget allows.
Implementation Plan
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Finally, the Outdoor Classroom and Social Space can be
completed as a final defining space that will signify the site
is open to the greater community for interaction. This space
will require a few higher budget items so they will require
more fundraising efforts and may take longer. Certain
portions of this space such as the Outdoor Classroom may
proceed earlier as materials (rocks and cover crop) are
already available.
$0 $5,000.00 $10,000.00 $15,000.00 $20,000.00
$20,000.00
$16,160.00
$16,211.20
$18,500.00
Phase 1 - Paths & Swales
Phase 2 - Greenhouse/Compost/Community Farm
Phase 3 - College Plots/Food Forest/Other
Phase 4 - Outdoor Classroom
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Budget
The overall budget has been broken down
based on each demonstration area and each
component includes rough estimates for
structural materials, labour, machine time,
organic materials and irrigation. This estimate
does not consider the costs of individual crop
costs and maintenance costs, simply
implementation costs. Also, donation of
materials and labour have not been considered
in this estimate. The overall budget is
estimated at approximately $71,000.00 with
major contributions going towards site
infrastructure costs.
Paths & Swales
28%
Greenhouse
10%
Compost Area
4%
Outdoor Classroom
26%
College Test Sites
7%
Community Garden
9%
Food Forest
15%
Buttery Garden
1%
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This development is part of a greater movement to maintain
strong local economies, especially in the development of
sustainable food systems. The hands-on experience gained from
this site by both students and community members will
contribute to a sustainable, resilient local community. This site
will also help to maintain the rich agricultural heritage the
Okanagan Valley is known for.
Students will be drawn to this education center for the chance to
experience the innovation and sustainability of this cutting edge
site.
The Okanagan College Demonstration Garden Project has the
opportunity to create a vibrant, shared space between teachers,
students, businesses, non-profits, local government and
community members. The site will focus on best practices in
agriculture and related technology to foster a sustainable future
for the abundant Okanagan Valley.
Summary
Written and prepared by: