To Mart We Go! Visit to High School & more... Oct. 18th, 2010

Mart ISD Leadership Class, here we come!!
Our third visit to Mart involved our group visiting the high school students during their leadership class and lunch periods to build awareness about the Mart Community Projects and the collaboration with the University of Texas. We (Sriju, Paula, PhD student~ Jen, and I…unfortunately our other commons group member Amy couldn’t make it) headed north from Austin around 6:30 in the morning to make it to the high school by 8:30 to present to the leadership class. We presented the information via a power point, including general information about who we are and how we are involved in the Mart Community Project.
In addition, we highlighted several past initiatives of the Community Project (such as the Art Co-op opening) and the four ongoing projects. We also gave examples of types of activities community commons/gardens may be used for, such as: friends meeting places, neighborhood gatherings, parties, board games, performances, fitness/yoga, reading/relaxation, and nature education. In addition, we gave a specific example of a community commons in Berkeley, called Peralta community garden. Finally, we outlined reasons that volunteering and service learning opportunities are cool, i.e. good for the individual and the community, along with ways they can support the project as it develops.
It was great to visit the school! The students were very welcoming and inspiring to us. We were very pleased to have about 15 students join us during their leadership class in the library to learn about the project and potential volunteer opportunities. Some of the students even offered to recruit their friends! When asked what they would like to see change in their community, many students had very insightful responses. Some mentioned there is a lot of garbage strewn about the community, a lot of abandoned buildings, and they would like to see this change. In addition, several commented that there isn’t much to do in Mart for young people, such as go to the movies or a bowling alley.
We had them sign in with their preferred contact information (email or phone). Unfortunately, the students are not able to check their email from school, so many of them provided their phone numbers instead. We were able to forward the power point presentation on to those with email so they could refer back to it later and pass the information along to their friends and/or family.
From there, we went to the donut shop for some breakfast and spoke with the owner, a man originally from Cambodia, who had moved to Mart from Houston. He was excited to learn about the art co-op, as he hadn’t heard about it before our brief visit. As a business owner, he was understandably interested in anything that could bolster customers in the restaurants and retail stores of Mart. He also spoke endearingly about Mart being a “safe” place to live, mentioning that if you should forget to lock your doors; most likely no one will take advantage of this.
With fresh kolaches to go, we headed over to the art co-op to meet with Mrs. Davis, one of the library board members to discuss the revised plan. She spoke very candidly about an overarching concern that the board is experiencing. In short, in general, the group is concerned that the project may break ground and then never come to fruition. Paula was able to address the concern and continue facilitating the discussion towards next steps. She reassured Mrs. Davis that no one would be coming in with shovels until the fiscal requirements for the project were secured. In addition, we discussed the fact that the plan is conceptual and needs to be agreed upon before we can really continue to move forward with this projected spot. By continuing long-distance communication with the board (via email and with Mrs. Davis as an intermediary since our meeting on the 18th), we hope to set a deadline for approval of the conceptual plan for sometime near the first week of November.
We visited the high school again for lunch, and were surprised and pleased that several students readily approached us to “see what we were up to”. Once again, it was a great visit and we were very impressed with the maturity and ambition of the students. A couple of other interesting observations that we made while visiting ~ despite the fact that these children are growing up in a small/rural community does not make them devoid of “issues”. For example, we noticed that one student was pregnant and wondered what type of services and/or support may be available in Mart for teen parents. In addition, we wondered if there might be any groups available for LGBT and questioning students. We learned shortly after, that, No, there are not. So much “room” for it! Wouldn’t it be great to have social work final field placements in rural communities such as Mart? We also observed that most of the students who approached us were African American/Black. Interesting observations…
We also made a couple other visits during our time in Mart.
On the way to visit the black cemetery, we hooked up with Paula’s adult niece as Paula was snapping photographs in her neighborhood. She accompanied us for the rest of the afternoon as we drove around town. The cemeteries…First of all, it is extremely disheartening/frightening/overwhelming that the cemeteries are still actively segregated in today’s society. Not only do they exist, but there is such disparity regarding the land and the upkeep. For example, there is a popular “dump site” just behind the black cemetery in the woods. As Paula went on snapping her photos, her niece commented that we should send them to the local newspaper to print and get the community all riled up. I agree! Maybe the energy would lead to change!
We were also fortunate enough to be able to visit Mrs. Handy, a 103 year old retired teacher! She is living in her home, and she was kind enough to share some stories with us about her time in college. If my memory serves me, she was the first African American female to graduate from Huston Tillotson in Austin. She also had plenty of good questions for us, and graciously invited us back for a visit!

Art in Mart~ CRAFT Model style!

Art in Mart blog continues!  Our group traveled to Mart for the second time with the Co-op group on October 4^th.  This trip focus in reference to the CRAFT model was within the Contact and Research cells.  We had a couple of meetings scheduled:  one with a couple members of the library board and the resident master gardener, and the other with the principals of the MISD. 

To begin with, we met with those associated with the library to show them the draft of our plan.  While the plan is in fact drawn out, it is meant to be conceptual in nature and presented with the hopes of eliciting feedback and continuing to engage in a conversation about the garden/commons area.

The library group brought up several legitimate concerns such as, cost, labor, and sustainability.  While these are the same concerns that our group has, we talked to them about the process and explained that before moving forward with these logistics – the concept needs to be approved by those in charge of the lot.  Once the concept is approved, the research can continue in these areas and beyond.  While the craft model is not linear, action may begin to take place once all necessary research is conducted. 

The group also offered some good feedback regarding the general layout of the plan.  The plan was then revised with their suggestions and shared via email with the board and other interested parties, such as the master gardener. 

Paula also offered the group an interesting article on Detroit as an up and coming artist haven.  I can’t find the article online, but below is a link to a local Detroit rag that talks about the current trend.  Also, one of the organizations mentioned was the Heidelberg Project.  I’ve also included their link.  This project has done a lot of partnering with Universities as well.  Also, please notice the plan was drafted by a landscape architect student! :o)

http://detnews.com/article/20090313/LIFESTYLE/903130306/Detroit-s-hard-edge----and-dirt-cheap-real-estate----attract-artists-from-around-the-world

http://www.heidelberg.org/develop.html

To be honest, the lines are a little blurred for me at this point regarding ownership of the project.  As beneficiaries, this group does not seem interested in developing the plan themselves.  I am confused at this point, because it’s not as though the three of us have any more knowledge or experience in developing such a plan than the library group themselves.   Yet, we are being asked to develop this aspect of the project.  We are hoping to recruit experts (e.g. landscape architects) from the community to support the actual “blueprint” plan of the garden, once the concept is approved for this site.  More clarity on this issue to follow… I imagine…

Next, we met with the Mart ISD principals.  This was an awesome contact meeting!  With a collective student body population of approximately 350, the principals have a good handle on who their students are and were confident that several would be interested in service learning opportunities offered through the Mart Community Projects.  This day, we specifically discussed the commons area and the art co-op, and various ways the students may be involved.  Some of these ways included creative consultation, creating art installations, participating in art workshops, and “work parties”.  We scheduled a subsequent meeting for the 18^th, to present to high school students.

In addition, we ate lunch at the Cozy Kitchen and were able to witness Paula in action ~ doing research.   This involves talking to residents about the Mart Community Project to bolster awareness and continue to develop community partners.  It was a great trip, and we left looking forward to returning!