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2017 Field Tour: Vertical Studio Day

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Community engagement is highly regarded by the SOLA team and where possible staff and students get involved with community-based projects which use their expertise. Recent work includes design proposals for West Melton Primary School, Lincoln Primary School and High School, the Children’s Sensory Garden for Christchurch Botanic Gardens and a new playground for the Lincoln University Childcare Centre.

At the beginning of each year SOLA runs a ‘Vertical Studio’ day which involves students from all four years of the BLA programme. These integrated studio days are used to respond to the environment through group work, creating temporary artworks or engaging in design exercises, as well as working as ‘bonding sessions’ so that all students can get to know each other better. These new relationships provide a great opportunity for students to support each other through their SOLA journey.

This year we decided that Vertical Studio would help a local community to achieve its goals. With 120 students and staff ready to work for the day, we had the capacity to make a real difference and make a positive impact in the community. This year, we chose to run the Vertical Studio at the new Mahinga Kai exemplar on Anzac Drive Reserve in East Christchurch, part of the Avon-Otakaro network. More information on that project can be found here – http://avonotakaronetwork.co.nz/projects/mahinga-kai.html

The day involved staff and students hand-weeding new areas of planting, loading wheelbarrows with mulch, spreading mulch around plants and stablising wind protection around the new season’s plantings.

We were lucky enough to have perfect weather for the day, with staff and students working hard to complete the maintenance of an ambitious area of new planting.

A big thank you to Teoti for the mihi and karakia, to Kathryn from the Avon-Otakaro Network and to Bridie from the Christchurch City Council for organising tools, gloves, water and morning tea for the participants, and to Mike Barthelmeh from SOLA who coordinated the day.

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