The “Client Interview” is where you get to write up all of your dreams and ideals. What are your goals? What details would you like to see on the site?
Then we get into the context and reality of the thing. What is your budget? How much time can you devote to the installation and maintenance of the site?
The site assessment gives you the context that the design must operate in. How hot and cold does it get? How much rainfall? These are essential points to know, as it determines which plants will do well on your site, what kind of buildings will be best, what additional infrastructure/changes you might need, and other elements.
We have a long and short form site assessment that we use. The short form is the one you’ll be doing for the course but we highly recommend, especially if you intend to stay on the land for any length of time, that you get the long form done over time.
You’ll find the Client interview and long and short form Site Assessment in the Appendix of this section. We will be filling out each section of the short form Site Assessment as we go through the course. There will be additional notes that you can add to the assessment as you observe your site throughout the course.
Here is a copy of our Client Interview as a pdf.
Hands On Activity
Fill out the Client interview to the best of your ability. There may be things you don’t have the answer to yet or don't apply to your situation. You can leave those blank.