Landscape architecture professor, Michael Sánchez, and students designed and constructed an ADA accessible garden plot in the existing Pullman Community Garden at Koppel Farm, in Pullman, Washington. The 500 square-foot, fully accessible garden will feature raised table gardens built at different heights placed on stone pavers with enough room to accommodate two people in wheelchairs. It will also have a fence, drip irrigation and storage for items like fertilizer and specialized hand tools. Until an ADA path from the main parking lot is constructed, the garden is temporarily accessible from a 100 square-foot, modified ADA van drop-off and entry pad.
Speaking about the experience students gained from participating in the garden’s construction, Prof. Sánchez shared the following:
Students have experienced multiple aspects of construction through this project including operating a skid steer and auger to clear soil and dig holes for fence posts, using a plate compactor to level and compact a gravel base for pavers, operating a miter saw to cut rails for the fence, [and using] a pneumatic staple gun to adhere the welded-wire fencing to the rails. [The students] will lay the pavers using an ashlar pattern.
Read the full article at the Moscow-Pullman Daily News: Cultivating a garden for all
For more information, contact Professor Sánchez.