• Purpose is to challenge you to reflect meaningfully and actively learn during Externship

• Designed to mimic the way writing is assigned in college

High Tech High Mesa 12th graders contributed to the construction of Exterior Orchard, A Conversation with Survival Piece V at La Jolla Historical Society. 

Exterior Orchard, A Conversation with Survival Piece V (2024), is an homage to their Portable Orchard (1972). The 1972 piece was commissioned by the Gallery at California State University, Fullerton “because of the loss of orchards and farms to suburban and industrial development and resulting smog in the area, the work was prophesied to be the last orange orchard in Orange County.” Our version consists of 12 hexagonal planter boxes filled with a variety of citrus trees and local compost - a revolutionary concept in 1972 that carries a relevant message today. In Helen Harrison’s own words: “To survive as a species, we are going to have to learn how to grow our own food and take care of ourselves at one point or another. So we started looking at what that means.”

During Externship, La Jolla Historical Society introduced HTHM externs to exhibition curator Tatiana Sizonenko to learn about the Harrisons’ commitment to ecology. 

They surveyed the exhibition site, studied Helen and Newton’s original 1972 design plans, and then got to work. After reviewing the plans together, the students divided into groups based on their preferred tasks and what needed to be done. They tackled design challenges, considering how the Harrisons would approach this project in 2024, how to reuse the planters or the materials, and how to design planters in an ecological way.

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