Sod has been laid and the garden is starting to look like what we had all imagined!

We have been hard at work the past two months trying to get the garden ready for the dedication ceremony on June 1st. We experienced some incredible highs, and a few setbacks, but we have pushed through the snow, rain, and constant Mitchellville wind to make our collective idea a reality. 

The women have been incredibly helpful through the construction process, and we all learned some new construction skills, from site grading to concrete pouring to constructing a security wall, students and women from the grounds crew have had a hand in every part of the design and construction process. We even learned the hard reality of making last-second design changes when certain features have to be removed from the plans for reasons beyond our control. 

Percussion Play donated an amazing outdoor instrument to the project during their site visit, and we are beyond grateful for their generosity. Everyone's faces lit up and we were all in a playful mood during our instrument tests, so we can only imagine how much positivity it will bring to the garden after it's complete!

Don and Brian from the Newton Correctional Facility were invaluable when it came to the walking path. Don was on site for weeks, teaching us how to set forms, measure appropriate gravel base depth, lay rebar, and actually helping us lay and finish the concrete across three separate pours (turns out it's really hard work!).

The women and staff at ICIW have been amazing partners to work with, and the relationships we have cultivated alongside and within the garden space were on full display when ICIW threw us a small graduation reception in appreciation of all of our work this past semester. The gratitude was mutual, as some students offered words of thanks to the women and staff for allowing us to be part of this crazy idea, and for teaching us and growing with us along the way. 

We can't thank the women and staff at ICIW, Don and Brian, and those who have donated to the project for all that we have been able to accomplish ahead of the garden dedication. It has been a lot of hard work over the past couple months, with a small group of students who were able to stick around after graduation to keep things going. We are excited to see this visitors garden come to fruition, and a little saddened that we won't be heading to ICIW on a regular basis anymore, as we have now been working with our small group of women for nearly 5 months and will certainly miss them. It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to be part of something that is so much bigger than us, and words can't describe how humbled we all are. 

We would like to express our gratitude and thank everyone who has helped us through donations or help spread the message! Please continue to share the message and help us achieve our goal amount for this project. 

As a continued design process, we have been able to engage the women and their children through a process known as participatory design, which includes activities such as collage, modeling, and discussion groups. Through this process of collaboration with the we have been able to design a garden that would truly cater to all the needs of the women, children and caregiver and succeed in enabling the women to rebuild relationships with their families. 

We believe the space we have been provided gives us a potential to create a beautiful visiting garden, one that provides space for activity, relaxation, and connection, and that breaks away from the rectangular brick and concrete of the existing facility. But this project extends beyond just the desire to create a great space. We believe that we can create a project that has a meaningful impact, by encouraging positive and productive family visits.

Through our research we have identified that children in the 2-6 age range are most vulnerable to feelings of abandonment, but children of all ages are impacted by the incarceration of their parents. Therefore, our design primarily revolves around creating spaces for play, to create opportunities for the mother and their children to engage in positive actives, create memories and nurture relationships.     

The video posted below, is a rendered walkthrough experience of the proposed garden. 

Please pick the level of donation that is right for you and make a long-term difference.

We sincerely appreciate all your help!