Connecting Muncie Neighborhood partners and resources
Muncie Neighborhood’s 2nd Annual Pool Party at Tuhey Pool was a blast! Families and neighbors from all over the community came together for a free night of fun celebrating Muncie’s neighborhoods with popsicles, hot dogs, BINGO, yard games, swimming, and friends!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iD-DivYjTU&list=UUrJ1UVXdC6omYgez8uRToMA&index=1
Ball State faculty, students, and community partners worked together this spring on a number of immersive learning projects in and around Muncie.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware County
Community Partner: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware County
Faculty Mentor: Suzanne Plesha, Office of Immersive Learning; Tim Pollard, Department of Telecommunications
Creating Community Through Drama: Outreach at Muncie Civic Theatre (ongoing)
Community Partner: Muncie Civic Theatre
Faculty Mentor: Peggy Fisher, Department of Communication Studies
Dance! Muncie After School
Community Partner: Muncie Community Schools
Faculty Mentor: Melanie Swihart, Department of Theatre and Dance
Digging in to Muncie’s Local Food System (ongoing)
Community Partner: Farmished, Second Harvest East Central Indiana
Faculty Mentor: Kate Elliott, Department of Journalism
Fundraising for Non-profit Organizations (ongoing)
Community Partners: Adventist Frontier Mission, Aria’s Army, Audubon Society, Cradle of Love, GR3 International, Delaware County Futbol Club, National Association of Mental Illness, Operation Blackout
Faculty Mentor: René Church, School of Art
Maring-Hunt Community Garden Market Pavilion and Outdoor Kitchen (ongoing)
Community Partners: Maring-Hunt Public Library, Thomas Park/Avondale Neighborhood Association
Faculty Mentor: Pam Harwood, Department of Architecture
Mathematics in Cultural Contexts 2018: Emergent Professionals Today and Responsible Educators Tomorrow
Community Partner: East Washington Acadmey
Faculty Mentor: Sheron Fraser-Burgess, Department of Educational Studies; Sheryl Stump, Department of Mathematical Sciences; Lynette Varner, Department of Elementary Education
Muncie Action Plan 3
Community Partner: Muncie Action Plan
Faculty Mentor: Lisa Dunaway, Department of Urban Planning
Nutrition Grows on You! A nutrition Demonstration Project for 4th Grade Students in Muncie Public Schools
Community Partner: Muncie Community Schools
Faculty Mentor: Carol Friesen, Department of Nutrition and Health Science
Philosophy for High School Students
Community Partner: Muncie Central High School
Faculty Mentor: Sarah Vitale, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies
Professional Practice for the Visual Artist
Community Partner: Muncie Arts and Culture Council
Faculty Mentor: Brent Cole & Maura Jasper, School of Art
Purple Cow: Moving from Ordinary to Extraordinary Care for Children (ongoing)
Community Partner: Kidz Korner Child Care Center
Faculty Mentor: Stacey Allred, Department of Elementary Education
Reber Woods
Community Partner: Red Tail Land Conservancy
Faculty Mentor: Kevin Kenyon, Sustainability Minor Program
Rehabilitating Houses (ongoing)
Community Partner: Greater Muncie Habitat for Humanity
Faculty Mentor: Janet Fick, Department of Construction Management and Interior Design
Reimagining Muncie’s Foodshed
Community Partners: Muncie Food Hub Partnership, Edible Muncie, Urban Garden Coalition, Ball State Student Farm
Faculty Mentor: Josh Gruver, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management
Second Harvest Survey 2018
Community Partner: Second Harvest Food Bank
Faculty Mentor: Melinda Messineo, Department of Sociology
Solar Start Project
Community Partner: Islamic Center of Muncie
Faculty Mentor: Sherif Attallah, Department of Construction Management and Interior Design
Team 2 – Reading Intervention at the Youth Opportunity Center (ongoing)
Community Partner: Youth Opportunity Center
Faculty Mentors: Ruth Jefferson & Maria Sciuchetti, Department of Special Education; Janay Sander, Department of Educational Psychology
The Maring-Hunt Library Community Garden Master Plan, its improvement and expansion, and a series of Garden Pavilions and Nature Play Pockets were designed and developed as useful spaces to address food insecurity in a USDA-designated food desert, cultivate community interaction and social activity, and provide learning opportunities for the Southview Elementary School students, Maring-Hunt Library patrons, and neighborhood families. The Maring-Hunt Library Community Garden Master Plan includes a trio of pavilions developed around a large community garden overseen by the Library. 1. The Gateway to Growing Gardeners’ Pavilion, which provides shade, seating, tool storage, and accessible garden beds, and a sand and water Nature Play Pocket was designed and built by students in a spring and summer 2017 immersive learning studio. 2. A Market Pavilion to house a community market and an outdoor learning space for the Great Achievers is currently under construction by students in a fall semester 2017 community build studio. A small separate outdoor kitchen and food preparation demonstration area is also a part of this project. 3. A fenced-in Educational Pavilion and children’s garden will be developed and used by Southview Elementary students in the future. This expansive greenspace with its pavilions, gardens, paths, bio-swale, and nature play pockets is being developed as an anchor in the Thomas Park/ Avondale and South Central Neighborhoods, and will turn an eyesore, a dilapidated exercise track and athletic field alongside an active railway line, into an asset motivating children and families to get outdoors and learn and engage in healthy activity together.
Faculty Mentor: Pam Harwood
Department: Architecture
Community Partners: Maring-Hunt Public Library, Community Gardeners, Southview Elementary School, Thomas Park/Avondale Neighborhood Association
Students: Zach Benge, Drew Fairchild, Rosie Hamilton, Adam Horkay, Tyler Kennedy, Daniel Klemen, Scott Manners, Austin Obermeyer, Zach Rooker, Riley Sandel, Benjamin Sass, Landon Underwood, Payne Wagner, Drew Weyer
Faculty Mentor: Pam Harwood
Department: Architecture
Community Partners: Maring-Hunt Public Library, Community Gardeners, Southview Elementary School, Thomas Park/Avondale Neighborhood Association
Students: Max Bainbridge, Zach Benge, Brian Bracht, Tyler Bracht, Jacob Burris, Schyler Cerqueira, Myrisha Colston, Jamie Craine, Hunter Crews, Alex DeKemper, Jordan Duke, Drew Fairchild, Michaela Greene, Rosie Hamilton, Shelby Harris, Ali Hartweck, Adam Horkay, Joshua Markiewicz, Emma Ocken, Jennifer Pease, Zach Rooker, Riley Sandel, Payne Wagner, Drew Weyer
Faculty Mentor: Pam Harwood
Department: Architecture
Community Partners: Maring-Hunt Public Library, Community Gardeners, Southview Elementary School, Thomas Park/Avondale Neighborhood Association
Students: Leslie Adriance, Lidia A-wan, Trevor Bauer, Courtney Castleman, Aliyah Clark, Christina Cope, Connor Crane, Seth Crussel, Nicholas Entrekin, Ellie Flaherty, Ryan Johnston, Bryan Kline, Emma Mappes, Linsey Stoy, Derek Tulowitzky
Students engaged in the design and procurement process needed to install a 5 KW solar panel system and then monitored and analyzed the system’s performance after installation was complete. This partnership, which involves the Islamic Center of Muncie and an electrical contractor, will capitalize on increasing awareness for renewable solar energy on campus and in the Muncie community.
Faculty Mentor: Sherif Attallah
Department: Construction Management and Interior Design
Community Partner: Islamic Center of Muncie
Students: Kyle Alcaraz, Jeff Gasper, Grant King, David Kosciulek, Hanbit Lee, Thomas Steussy-Williams, Brandon Watson, Darian Wiley, Ross Williams, Kevin Zielinski
The survey of clients in the surrounding eight counties has been requested by Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana. The goal is to provide data similar to that from a now-discontinued survey conducted by Feeding America. The Feeding America survey was conducted every four (4) years and the data it provided was used by Second Harvest for purposes such as (but not necessarily limited to) promotional outreach material and grant proposals. It is hoped that this proposed survey will fill the information void left and bring new communities stories to light.
Faculty Mentor: Melinda Messineo
Department: Sociology
Community Partner: Second Harvest Food Bank
Students: Victor Boggs, Rachael Finchum, Dorothy Forster, Alli Goins, Sam Halter, Samaria Hamilton, Katarina Johnson, Samuel Johnson, Danae King, Catina Mccord, Jessy Menker, Peter Moskalew, Olivia Power, Jenny Schultz, Daphne Scott, Iynsey Shockley, Darren Svitko
Indiana is an agricultural state with the value of agricultural products sold in excess of $11 billion. Then, why do we still have hungry people in our backyard? Like many Rust Belt regions of the country, East Central Indiana (ECI) experienced a slower recovery from the 2008 economic downturn. Once a reliable choice, careers in car and industrial manufacturing have been severely limited. ECI counties show some of Indiana’s highest poverty and unemployment levels. As well, nearly 17% of ECI residents and 25% of children are food insecure. How can we help local farmers expand their share in the food market AND help feed hungry people in our communities? These issues are complex and multi-faceted. In this project, students explored the issues surrounding food insecurity and methods of developing sustainable food systems in Muncie and East Central Indiana. We explored ways to best serve our community and empower a resilient and sustainable food-based economic engine that has the capacity to provide fresh, healthy foods to its residents.
Faculty Mentor: Josh Gruver
Department: Natural Resources and Environmental Management
Community Partner: Muncie Food Hub Partnership, Edible Muncie, Urban Garden Coalition, Ball State Student Farm
Students: Kaitlin Carroll, Libonique Chandler, Kristina Chier, Praphulla Devanapally, Abby Fischer, Dylan Ford, Maryssa Gosnell, Rachael Hanley, Paige Jones, Mitch Kaverman, Kami Kleefisch, Kate Koenig, Tyler Mulhall, Garrett Mullins, Hunter Phillips, Preeti Samra, Caroline Tegeler, Taylor Wilson, Nora Zaher