Building an Accessible Raised Bed for Youth

In 2017, the HCSWCD was approached by Emily Crapnell, seventh grade teacher and garden club leader at Noblesville West Middle School in Noblesville, Indiana, as a consultant in the design of a school garden for experiential learning. One goal of the project was to make the garden fully accessible. One way to do this was with the design and construction highly accessible raised beds. What follows is both the process, thinking, and construction of the accessible raised bed that was designed specifically for this purpose.

​Goal, Values, Opportunities, Constraints

Goal
The goal of the accessible raised bed is that a middle school student could access the bed via wheelchair or powered wheelchair. 

Design Values

1. Durable, long lasting
2. Accessible
3. Safe - using non-toxic and food-safe materials

Opportunities

1. Access to grants, booster club, and school support. This gave permission to think outside of the box.
2. Services offered by the HCSWCD through its urban agriculture initiative and technical assistance.

Constraints

1. Water - many raised beds, especially accessible raised beds, rot quickly due to inadequate means of containing and moving water as well as protection from water and weather.
2. Weight - to grow larger plants, having a have an appropriate amount of soil depth, weight was going to be an issue
3. Reachability - users need to be able to reach half-way across the bed and up toward plants for it to be accessible.

Design​