︎ Local Roots
Facilitating Stewardship and Imperfect Apples
Local Roots transforms spaces into food forests, integrating architecture, ecology, and policy to provide fresh produce, enhance biodiversity, and support carbon sequestration. Through interdisciplinary collaboration and community-driven initiatives, this project fosters sustainability, social connection, and a healthier, more resilient campus environment.
By David Vega ︎ , Sophia Cunningham ︎, Daria Guseinova︎, Hui Zhu ︎
Who
Freya Larson is a single mother to her son Peter, who is 4. She is a Ph.D. Student in Environmental Engineering through its Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) department, Located in the Environmental and Water Resources Engineering Building (EWRE). Freya’s farm-to-table upbringing has made adjusting to campus life challenging. She grew up surrounded by fresh produce and wholesome meals, but her current food options are limited to what’s available at the campus cafeteria and nearby convenience stores. The lack of fresh, high-quality ingredients has been frustrating for her, and she often feels her energy levels dip as a result. Despite her busy schedule, she makes an effort to prepare simple, nourishing meals, but juggling studies with finding good food choices has proven tough, leaving her longing for the meals she once enjoyed back home on the farm. Her interests lead her to want to initiate and study food forests as implementation in campus and edible landscape design
Why
College campus design often fails to prioritize environments that support the well-being of students and faculty. North Campus, in particular, suffers from limited healthy food options and a disconnect between students and the natural landscape. Research shows that exposure to nature improves cognitive function, reduces stress, and fosters social connection—making an interspecies, interdisciplinary approach to campus and food design essential. Transitioning away from monoculture campus designs of lawns and paths, a reimagined North Campus could feature locally maintained food gardens that foster healthier movement and stronger connections to the ecosystem. Shifting the focus to ecological growth, a campus designed with nature and health in mind will, in turn, shape healthier student habits. Through community-driven design, these spaces provide fresh, nutritious food, encouraging collaboration and learning. Unlike the current self-serve food station at Taubman College, the proposed design offers both fresh produce and a space for campus events, including the study of local food and hydroponic techniques. The project combines architectural intervention with community participation, drawing on the collective expertise of various organizations to foster a healthier, more connected campus environment.
How
Through community-driven design, built and natural spaces will provide fresh, nutritious food, encouraging collaboration and learning. Unlike the current self-serve food station at Taubman College, the proposed design offers both fresh produce and a space for campus events, including the study of local food and hydroponic techniques. The project combines architectural intervention with community participation, drawing on the collective expertise of various organizations to foster a healthier, more connected campus environment. This design envisions North Campus as a system of urban food forests by transforming existing spaces to support native species, food production, and habitat restoration. The forest structure will recreate natural gaps and edges, requiring minimal maintenance after initial implementation. Farm stands will support the distribution of the local produce grown in the structure, and make local, healthy food choices more accessible. This initiative aims to build an “Ecology of Knowledge” and a community of practice, where students and organizations co-create, implement, and maintain the landscape. Partnering with the University of Michigan, the City of Ann Arbor, and various departments this approach emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration. Together, these groups will establish a campus culture rooted in co-production, where students learn from and engage with other species and the environment to cultivate a more sustainable future.
What
The proposed design integrates green spaces at an urban, architectural and product level with a productive food forest. The design combines ecological, socio-cultural, and policy components, engaging students in the seven-layer food forest model: tall trees, fruiting trees, shrubs, climbing plants, herbs, ground cover, rhizosphere, and fungi. This system emphasizes that, without robust sociocultural and policy backing—including community stewardship agreements—the initiative risks disruption from municipal or institutional forces. A dedicated “community of practice” will be established, in partnership with the University of Michigan, the City of Ann Arbor, and various university departments such as Design, Planning, Ecology, Public Health, Engineering, and Environmental Studies. The design also incorporates noninvasive co-production methods that respect nonhuman species as part of a shared ecosystem. By uniting interdisciplinary expertise and creating spaces for community interaction, this initiative fosters a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive environment on North Campus.
So What
Local Roots initiative emphasizes local food production as a means of promoting healthy eating and engaging students in the design of accessible nutritious options. This initiative aligns with the university and city green initiatives by serving as a carbon sink on the north campus and fostering community spaces and activities. The proposed design enhances biodiversity in public landscapes, reinforcing Ann Arbor’s “nature corridors.” These corridors will facilitate walking and foraging, while an array of edible plants supports local wildlife and enhances urban resilience through carbon sequestration and rainwater absorption. Rewilded green spaces mitigate urban heat, protect soil ecosystems, and reduce flooding risks associated with paved areas. By incorporating diverse nectar and fruit-bearing plants, these spaces transform monocultural environments into rich ecosystems and campuses, allowing students to connect more deeply with their local ecology and appreciate the sensory and nutritional benefits of our urban natures.
Design To Outcomes
The Local Roots initiative is designed to directly address health outcomes on the University of Michigan’s North Campus by creating a dynamic, productive food forest that promotes long-term healthier lifestyles. By integrating urban, architectural, and product scale design principles, this project provides not only fresh, locally-grown food but also enhances biodiversity and fosters mental and physical health through reintegration with nature and food production.
Research consistently shows that exposure to natural environments improves cognitive function, reduces stress, and supports social cohesion. By transforming underutilized spaces into vibrant ecosystems with varying, nectar- and fruit-bearing plants, Local Roots creates a multispecies environment that supports both human and ecological health. These spaces will serve as an accessible resource for students, encouraging physical activity through foraging and promoting wellness through fresh, nutritious food. By converting monocultural landscapes into diverse, productive ecosystems, Local Roots not only improves physical, and allergenic health by increasing access to healthy food but also promotes mental well-being through the sensory and restorative benefits of nature.
Links to Follow:
︎︎︎Two Page Report
︎︎︎Final Video
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Works Cited
2. Crews, Timothy E., Wim Carton, and Lennart Olsson. "Is the Future of Agriculture Perennial? Imperatives and Opportunities to Reinvent Agriculture by Shifting from Annual Monocultures to Perennial Polycultures." Global Sustainability, vol. 1, 2018, pp. e11. Cambridge University Press, https://doi.org/10.1017/sus.2018.11.
3. Edwards-Jones, Gareth. "Does Eating Local Food Reduce the Environmental Impact of Food Production and Enhance Consumer Health?" Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, vol. 69, no. 4, 2010, pp. 582–591. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665110002004.
4. Lake, Iain R., et al. "Climate Change and Food Security: Health Impacts in Developed Countries." Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 120, no. 11, 2012, pp. 1520–1526. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1104424.
6. Leake, Jonathan R., Andrew Adam-Bradford, and Janette E. Rigby. "Health Benefits of 'Grow Your Own' Food in Urban Areas: Implications for Contaminated Land Risk Assessment and Risk Management?" Environmental Health, vol. 8, suppl. 1, 2009, pp. S6. https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-8-S1-S6.
7. Solomon, Debra, and Mariska van den Berg. Urbaniahoeve: Event-Based Urban Agriculture in Second Nature Urban Agriculture. Urbaniahoeve Social Design Lab, 2014.
8. University of Michigan Campus Farm. Sustainable Food Systems at Matthaei Botanical Gardens. University of Michigan, n.d. Retrieved from https://mbgna.umich.edu/campus-farm/.