Auburn University, Alabama
Site Design + Implementation
2017 - ongoing
 

Transformation Garden

2023 Merit Award in
Analysis & Planning
ASLA Southeastern
Regional Conference

2017 Award of Honor
ASLA Alabama Chapter

Auburn University has been heavily shaped by its land-grant mission of research, service, and outreach. Its tradition of land-based research extends deep into the history of the University, but unfortunately is scarcely legible on the campus today. Vast areas of lawn have long since replaced field crops, orchards, and other active land-based experimentation. Only a handful of field plots remain and those are scattered around campus. One prominent exception is a small, one acre plot of land affectionately called the Old Rotation. Begun in 1896, this cropping study is the longest running continuous cotton experiment in the world.

Transformation Garden, formerly known as Field Lab No. 01, is a contemporary extension of Auburn’s unique agrarian legacy with the goal of aggregating land-based research back into visibility, and immersing students, faculty, and the community in experimental experiences of cultivation. This 12 acre plot expands the spirit and range of the Old Rotation and provides a collective area for teaching, research, and demonstration. Transformation Garden is a landscape of hands-on learning that provides field plots for trial gardens, fruit production, tree pruning, vegetable harvesting, crop studies, construction courses, medicinal plant research, pollinator studies, and various other research, workshops, and classwork. As future phases of the Transformation Garden gain funding, temporary meadows and regenerative cover crops actively improve soil health and provide immediate immersive experiences. The garden’s layout, a patchwork quilt of plot typologies, provides ample opportunity for students, faculty, researchers, and community members to brush shoulders, witness growth and change, and to be inspired by the wonder of the garden.