rotary park

My First Real Building

Skills utilized:

Leadership Development
Practical Building Methods
3D Design (Rhino)
2D Drafting (AutoCAD)

Not long after I joined the Muncie Sunruse Rotary Club in the Summer of 2013, I was encouraged to get involved in the club’s ongoing flagship project: Michael Ellis Rotary Park. Founded in 2005, it was the only green space within a mile of its location, in a primarily low income neighborhood.

A landscape architecture class under the direction of Professor German Cruz at Ball State University developed a master plan for the park, and it is still being used to guide our park development efforts.

The park is cleaned by volunteers on a seasonally monthly basis, and as we grew and expanded the park, our volunteers had to supply their own tools, and on a continually larger basis. We occasionally had outside groups without access to gardening tools volunteer as well, which created a complex crowd sourcing process to gather tools before cleanups, and then return them afterwards.

I envisioned a tool storage shed that also had a screen to protect a port-a-potty, and also supports a drinking fountain. By adding these amenities, Rotary Park was finally recognized as an official trailhead of the Cardinal Greenway.