Capstone Project Proposal Draft

Name of student: Ashton Rowley

Date: Wed May 5 2021
Teacher: Ms. Lacroix
Capstone strand I have chosen is The project Strand
Proposed title for my project: My imitation ecosystem farm

What is your inquiry question that interests you for further research? It should be a question that
connects with a purpose, passion or personalized area of interest for you. This is a question that
you cannot just google an answer for. Please see examples from your Capstone booklet.
My inquiry question is:

How are mass mono farming destroying ecosystems

Rationale/context: Detail your reasons for choosing this inquiry question. Explain WHY you are
choosing to investigate this topic as a major area of focus. How does this area of inquiry connect
to your passion(s), purpose? Why is it of personal interest to you?

I chose this question because t fits with my project and helps show the difference between
mono farming and a farm that fits with the surrounding ecology and it helps me plan for my
future when I make a small hobby farm like this.

Background: What background knowledge/connections/prior learning do you have in this

area of inquiry?

I know that because mono farms farm the same thing it requires lots of external support to
keep it going and tends to kill the surrounding plant and spread the disease that affect that
plant easily making crops dying much more common

Career connections: What is your intended career area at this point in time? What
connections does this inquiry question have to your life, academic and/ or career goals?

My intended career that I plan to go into is pipefitter. This inquiry doesn’t really fit into this
career, but it does in the hobby farm I want

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Interdisciplinary and core competencies connections: What subject areas and core
competencies will be connected with your project? Outline and explain the connections.

This would fit with agriculture, ecology, geography, architecture/engineering, and trades/shop
classes. The core competencies would be creative thinking, personal identity, critical thinking,
and personal awareness and responsibility

Capstone Presentation medium: select one or more project mediums you wish to use to
present your project. Outline and give details about how you will present your project once
completed. You may use a combination of mediums.
o Electronic portfolio: Prezi or PPT
o Physical portfolio
o Website
o iMovie presentation
o YouTube channel

Hand drawn map and a ppt presentation

Description of my Capstone project. Specific Project Details of the Capstone Project: what
will you research, create, study, produce, solve, investigate? What product will be produced
at the end of this project for evaluation. Write a one-page description outlining your
proposal.

I will research the environment of my chosen area find what plants are invasive and get rid of
them, then find plants/crops and herbs research them and how they could fit into the
ecosystem and if they would take over, then plan which I will include, then do the same thing
for animals. After I would start planning the number of plants and animals to include along with
their placement on the farm, along with any other building I may need. After I get the amount
of everything, I would make a budget for the cost of everything. After all of that I would draw
the map and make the presentation

Resources/ Technology/Skills: Make an assessment of the resources, technology and

skills you will need to be able to complete this project. What is your plan to be able to
access/learn all of the resources necessary to achieve completion of this project? Detail
your plans.

Maps, research of environment on and around area on map, how plants interact with each
other.

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Mentors/Community Connections: What types of mentor(s)/community connections will
you need to help you complete your capstone project? How will your mentor(s) help you?
What is your plan to access the mentorship/community connections necessary for this
project?

People who have studied the environment and made similar farms like the ones from the
documentary “the biggest little farm”

Project limitations: What are some project limitations and potential obstacles that you foresee
that might affect progress with your Capstone Project?

Finding a well-done topography map of the location, time constraint for the hand drawing,
tools used to best draw the map, how plants will react with each other and with “pests” like
aphids and slugs/snails or fungi/diseases

Other considerations: List and detail any other related information/ considerations about
your project that you feel should be included in your project proposal.

References:

Attach a REFERENCE LIST. Your list should be written using correct APA formatting.
An example is provided on page 21 of your Capstone booklet.

Reference

Cesarano, G., Zotti, M., Antignani, V., Marra, R., Scala, F., & Bonanomi, G. (2017). SOIL
SICKNESS AND NEGATIVE PLANT-SOIL FEEDBACK: A REAPPRAISAL OF
HYPOTHESES. Journal of Plant Pathology, 99(3), 545-570
environment: Is temperate agroforestry the answer? Renewable Agriculture and Food
Systems, 28(1), 80-92.
Grossman, J. (2019). Valuing Biodiversity. Arnoldia, 77(1), 2-15.
Picasso, V., Brummer, E., Liebman, M., Dixon, P., & Wilsey, B. (2011). Diverse perennial crop
mixtures sustain higher productivity over time based on ecological
complementarity. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 26(4), 317-327.
Ren, W., Hu, L., Zhang, J., Sun, C., Tang, J., Yuan, Y., & Chen, X. (2014). Can positive
interactions between cultivated species help to sustain modern agriculture? Frontiers in
Ecology and the Environment, 12(9), 507-514.

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Smith, J., Pearce, B., & Wolfe, M. (2013). Reconciling productivity with protection of the
environment: Is temperate agroforestry the answer? Renewable Agriculture and Food
Systems, 28(1), 80-92.
Wang, J., Li, X., Zhang, J., Yao, T., Wei, D., Wang, Y., & Wang, J. (2012). Effect of root exudates
on beneficial microorganisms—evidence from a continuous soybean monoculture. Plant
Ecology, 213(12), 1883-1892.