This final stage of construction wraps up years of community conversations and design collaborations initiated by Ecological Artist Jackie Brookner (1945-2015) and the City of Fargo Planning Department. Along the way, the project has involved hundreds of community partners, neighbors, children and even city bus drivers.

Since 2012 we have re-imagined how a storm-water basin could become a beautiful, common space for families and community members. During the WeDesign, neighbors were empowered to design and create some of the park elements. Through the design principles, we also prepared the area for an ecological rehabilitation of native prairie and birds plus a community garden.

We are humbled by all who have contributed their ideas, imagination and expertise to make the World Garden Commons at Rabanus Park a national example of how art, public space, ecology and community can come together.

Construction is due to be complete at the end of the month.

Natural play log spiral concept created by Westside Elementary 5th graders using clay and twigs (2016)

Construction at World Garden Commons is scheduled to resume this month and continue into late spring of 2018.

In August, Gast Construction was awarded the contract to build overlook decks, raised paths, natural play features and a boardwalk at World Garden Commons with Land Elements overseeing the construction.

This week, contractors installed a portion of the silt fence which rings the construction areas. Later they will build a temporary road to move construction materials and equipment. By October, work will begin on the paths.

The 10-month construction schedule is necessary considering the type of weather and building conditions the contractors will experience while working in the storm-water basin.

Out of the imagination of the community, a once-barren site will be transformed: a welcoming commons to reintroduce plant, soil and wildlife, sculptural landscape, wandering paths with the intent to reintroduce each other to our human and cultural dependence on natural ecology.

Researchers use the re-imagined stormwater basin to test hypotheses and compile observations. The data gathered will help artists, engineers, ecologists and landscape architects design better future projects in Fargo and beyond.

This fulfills one of The Fargo Project’s design principles: to learn how the ecological systems are behaving, and practice responsive adaptive design and adaptive management.

Five students in the Natural Resources Management program at North Dakota State University recently presented posters of their research conducted at World Garden Commons.

Biomass Potential

Nathan Welberg is investigating how much biomass potential is in the city of Fargo. Plant biomass in restored prairies is being explored as one way to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. Welberg took samples of prairie chord grass and sedges from the site.

By measuring how much plant material grew in each sample and multiplying it times available land, he determined that more than 3.5 million pounds of plant biomass could be grown in the City of Fargo. The results were used in the Carbon Negative proposal that won the Social Impact category in the 2016 Innovation Challenge at NDSU.

Community Gardening

Sara Bjorlin studied the benefits and challenges of community gardening in helping new Americans integrate into the larger community. She found that 83 percent of those surveyed said their work with the community garden helped them connect to the Fargo-Moorhead area. The project also stimulated economic, social, and emotional growth.

Inducing Stream Meandering

NDSU undergrad Aaron Green devised baffles to induce meander in the old channel bed.

Aaron Green and Hailey Greenwalt studied the best ways to naturally induce stream meandering, while upholding landscape aesthetics, in a stormwater channel. After analyzing preliminary measurements and studying best-practice design, the students recommended construction of boulder riffles and boulder/willow tree baffles at predetermined locations. The methods and structures will be monitored regularly to determine effectiveness.

Studying the Trash

The concentration of solid waste material in drift lines was higher than elsewhere in the basin.

Janessa Veach is researching where trash in the stormwater basin comes from: whether blown in or from the drainage system itself. This information is valuable because it could help the aesthetics of the site and it could make clean up more efficient. Preliminary results showed that the concentration of trash is higher in drift lines than elsewhere in the basin. Further analysis and research will be done.

The stormwater basin at Rabanus Park previously featured a mowed depression and a concrete channel.

Built in the 1980s, the stormwater basin located at Rabanus Park was designed with a single purpose of flood control. It is one of numerous basins across the city of Fargo that collect stormwater or snow melt from streets and parking lots and release the water into the Red River over several hours. It’s part of a complex citywide system with over 350 miles of pipes that include other dry detention basins, drains, coulees, lift stations, and wet retention ponds.

That’s a big, unsung system that most of us don’t even realize exists.

The orange and darker blue shapes indicate public and private detention basins that provide stormwater protection to properties within the City of Fargo.

But just because a stormwater basin is needed for flood control doesn’t mean it can’t serve another purpose. In this case, the basin will also be an inviting greenspace that reflects Fargo’s cultural vibrancy.

Construction this winter will further transform the basin by enhancing and restoring natural plants, which will encourage wildlife to move into the new habitat. The introduction of “natural” water features will further add to the value and aesthetic of the space.

THE DESIGN All the ideas and activates integrated into the design were introduced by 5^th graders. Acting as a gateway into the basin, before slope begins the design introduces a large tree encircled by seating/stepping logs, surrounded by the native grasses and flowers which will grow within the basin.  Features include a tunnel, caves, hidden places for shelter, bridges and a huge boulder, stepping stones and logs for climbing which evoke curiosity and exploration into the basin.

Following 5th graders input into design, Artist Dwight Mickelson and a team of landscape architects, community and planners assembled a concept for natural play features at World Garden Commons

A WeDesign student participant and Kene Okigbo, communication intern at Reach Partners, discuss natural play at World Garden Commons Party in the Park

The goals for World Garden Commons and the overarching Fargo Project has always remained the same: create a space where community can learn from and experience nature close to home. As the plans transition into final form, with community feedback and design review, the team is making sure to “let the children lead” in the design.