Students revitalize campus with a garden
Student group, E.A.R.T.H., plants vegetables behind the University Relations building for donation to local shelters.
By Mandy Earles
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008
The student group E.A.R.T.H. recently planted and revitalized the campus community garden behind the University Relations building and hoped to donate the plants to local shelters.
E.A.R.T.H, (Environmental Action to Revitalize the Heartland), which is headed by the University of Kansas Center for Community Outreach, started planting the garden at the end of March and has since yielded radishes, lettuce, spinach, onions and much more.
Melissa Rogers, coordinator for E.A.R.T.H., said the group hoped to plant potatoes, pumpkins, squash and tomatoes as well.
The garden, located between 13th and 14th streets on Louisiana Street, has been a project in the making since 2006. Aaron Olsen, Overland Park senior and founder of the campus garden, started the garden because he saw an opportunity when he passed an abandoned playground every day behind the University Relations building.
“The space wasn’t being used,” Olsen said. “Turning that space into a garden made the campus more beautiful.”
Olsen said the garden did well the first year, but when he had to leave to study abroad, the garden seemed to fall apart because Olsen couldn’t find someone to take over.
However, when Olsen returned, Margaret Tran, Derby junior, contacted him with an interest in revitalizing the garden. Tran said she used to live in the scholarship halls and saw what had become of the garden.
“The garden had gotten lost over the years,” Tran said. “It was a great way to teach students about gardening and give them a great outdoor experience.”
Adam Fiedler, Holton senior and volunteer for the campus garden, said it was his love of gardening that got him involved with the garden. He said he helped organize the garden by deciding which plants to grow and how much shade each plant would need.
“The goal is to yield enough produce to donate it to local shelters and local community members in need,” Fiedler said.
Rogers said so far, the garden hadn’t yielded enough this year to start donating, but they would keep expanding the garden so that they could eventually donate.
Olsen said the garden still offered other benefits to the University, such as creating a more beautiful, sustainable campus.
“The garden allows students to be involved in something completely student managed and initiated,” Olsen said.
Tran said the garden also offered environmental benefits because the garden didn’t use any pesticides, used only natural fertilizers, and produced locally grown food. She said by producing organic food, they could reduce the amount of food shipped, which in turn could lower the amount of carbon dioxide released into the air.
“The garden shows how food can be provided on a local level,” Tran said. “It can be provided by those within the community, allowing people to see where their food was grown and who grew it.”
Tran said the Center for Community Outreach funded the garden this year and that it would fund the garden next year as well. She said the center had 10 to 15 dedicated volunteers, but that the number varied from week to week. Rogers said the amount of volunteers had been their number one obstacle for this summer.
“We’re hoping to advertise more during the fall semester, letting people know that this is an opportunity for everyone to learn and enjoy,” Rogers said.
— Edited by Ramsey Cox
Discussion
All comments are moderated by Kansan.com staff. For our full user policy, click here.
How does this make campus more sustainable if all of the food is being donated?
Share your 2¢
Requires free registration.