Project: Why Does Nothing Grow in This Corner

The driving question

Why does nothing grow in this corner, and what would it take to change that.

Why this one works

Every site has one. A bare patch, a corner that stays mud, a bed where things die. Nobody knows why, which means the question is genuinely open and the answer is genuinely useful.

It also has a clean end point. You either fixed it or you did not.

How it runs

Week one: describe the problem precisely. Photographs, measurements, what is there now.

Weeks two and three: test the four usual suspects. Light, measured at three times of day. Water, by drainage timing. Soil, by texture and pH. Traffic, by counting who walks across it.

Week four: form a hypothesis and get it challenged by another group.

Weeks five to seven: intervene. One change only, so the result means something.

Weeks eight to ten: monitor and report.

What gets produced

A written diagnosis, an intervention, and a before and after record. Given to whoever manages the grounds.

Where it goes wrong

Changing several things at once, which makes the result uninterpretable. Insist on one variable and hold the line even when it feels slow.

Also, some corners cannot be fixed. A failed intervention correctly diagnosed is a complete success and the class needs to hear that at the start.

Related

Project Tracker is the one page planning sheet for any of these.