A look toward the future : environmental education at the Blackford County landfill, Hartford City, Indiana

Abstract

How can a full sanitary landfill, in Blackford County, Indiana, be reclaimed to be used as an environmental education area? It has become a growing public concern to be more environmentally sensitive. This is visible through the creation of many programs or events such as paper recycling drives, Earth Day, waste reduction plans, plant a tree programs, and commercial and television programs aimed at teaching people to take care of their environment, in many homes, cities, and states throughout the US. These programs and plans have used recycling, composting, and other things to reduce the production of garbage and become more sensitive to the environment. However we still throw away and waste thousands of tons of garbage each year, of which much could be reused again. More education is needed to form and strengthen a more environmentally sensitive attitude to reduce current and prevent future wastefulness.This project used a completed landfill as the site for an educational center which will become one of the many new places to house programs to teach the public the importance and benefits of waste reduction and how to become more environmentally sensitive. In the design, where applicable, recycled or reusable materials were used in the construction of the site to set an example of what can be done in the design profession to reduce and reuse garbage. Education programs were provided for all ages, but were focused on school children to instill an environmentally sensitive attitude early in their life. The Landscape Architect, through the processes of design and reclamation, created a model program and introduced a model solution to teach the public the importance of waste reduction and ways to decrease the amount of garbage that we create.