During the summer of 2010, Sarah Alward designed and created an illustrative master plan for the non-profit organization, Grass Lake Sanctuary (GLS). GLS is a 145-acre tract that provides spaces and programs where people can learn to reestablish balance and connection between their personal and natural worlds.

In the creation of the master plan, Sarah had the opportunity to conduct a site inventory and analysis via site visits and ArcGIS. She was also connected with some of GLSí¢â‚¬â„¢s many volunteers, including its land stewards, master gardeners, organic gardeners, executive director, and GLS founder. Through these interactions, Sarah worked to incorporate everyoneí¢â‚¬â„¢s input into a cohesive plan for the space that met the needs of its users as well as fulfills GLSí¢â‚¬â„¢s healing mission. The final master plan will be used to communicate GLSí¢â‚¬â„¢s vision of fostering sustainable relationships between people and nature to financial donors, retreat participants, and the public.  

This internship was a great stepping stone between the design challenges of the classroom and designing for the real world. It provided opportunities for critical thinking, landscape analysis, collaborating with others from different fields, and further experience working with ArcGIS and hand-rendering techniques.

Internship Details