My landscape design students in HORT 432 Advanced Landscape Design designed, constructed, and installed one pop-up park on College Street as part of an international event, Park(ing) Day (parkinday.org) on Friday, September 21. We could not have asked for a more beautiful fall day. Their project was the only one installed in Montana!

For one day, the tiny park successfully challenged people’s every-day perceptions of public space. The objectives for this class project were to develop a shared site design, work within budget and time constraints, assess material sourcing and disposal strategies, learn construction techniques, develop communication and media relation strategies, and analyze user engagement with the space.

We collaborated with the Division of Agricultural Education, which amped up the student learning, design options, and construction quality. A huge thank you to Dr. Dustin Perry and his graduate student, Jondie Rianda, who helped make this project a reality! Also, thank you to David Baumbauer, John Van Delinder - City of Bozeman’s Street, Sign, and Signal Superintendent, Greenspace, Gallatin Valley Sod Farm, and all who stopped by.