- Home >
- Campus News
Moving up
August 09, 2007
In an effort to grow more food and engage the campus community, PLU’s community garden is moving to a new site on upper campus.
The new location isn’t quite ready to grow crops in, however, as it’s covered by grass and overgrown blackberry bushes. The Garden Club hosted a work party on Aug. 4 to help clear the site, and a handful of students and community members chipped in to help.
Though the turnout wasn’t what the club hoped for, the small group succeeded in filling a large yard waste dumpster to the brim.
“Overall it was a success – we could not have packed up any more blackberries or branches,” said alum Adam Oswald, who is guiding the garden’s move. “It was impressive.”
Most of this academic year will be spent preparing the new site for planting, and the club should start growing crops next summer, he said.
The new plot, located behind Ingram Hall, is about twice as large as the current garden on lower campus. This will allow the club to grow more vegetables and fruit, all of which is donated to Trinity Lutheran Church. The church distributes the food to 100 needy Parkland families.
“It was the time to do it and the spot to do it in,” said alumna Becky Mares.
Mares and student Kate Fontana re-established the community garden on lower campus in April 2006. According to the campus master plan, the upper-campus lot was the only space not marked for a future project, she said.
Oswald has already established composting piles at the site, which will improve the quality of the soil when it comes time to plant, he said. The PLU garden is organic, which means that synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are not used.
Oswald has high hopes for the future of the garden. Eventually, he’d like to see a gazebo built and benches placed in the space to encourage students to spend more time there. Additionally, he’d like student to display their artistic talents by painting murals on the fence or installing sculptures among the plants.
The Garden Club is currently working to create a paid student position responsible for running the garden during the summer at the height of the growing season, Oswald said. Right now, the garden is maintained by dedicated volunteers.
To learn more about the garden and how to get involved, visit www.plu.edu/~garden.
Though the turnout wasn’t what the club hoped for, the small group succeeded in filling a large yard waste dumpster to the brim.
“Overall it was a success – we could not have packed up any more blackberries or branches,” said alum Adam Oswald, who is guiding the garden’s move. “It was impressive.”
Most of this academic year will be spent preparing the new site for planting, and the club should start growing crops next summer, he said.
The new plot, located behind Ingram Hall, is about twice as large as the current garden on lower campus. This will allow the club to grow more vegetables and fruit, all of which is donated to Trinity Lutheran Church. The church distributes the food to 100 needy Parkland families.
“It was the time to do it and the spot to do it in,” said alumna Becky Mares.
Mares and student Kate Fontana re-established the community garden on lower campus in April 2006. According to the campus master plan, the upper-campus lot was the only space not marked for a future project, she said.
Oswald has already established composting piles at the site, which will improve the quality of the soil when it comes time to plant, he said. The PLU garden is organic, which means that synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are not used.
Oswald has high hopes for the future of the garden. Eventually, he’d like to see a gazebo built and benches placed in the space to encourage students to spend more time there. Additionally, he’d like student to display their artistic talents by painting murals on the fence or installing sculptures among the plants.
The Garden Club is currently working to create a paid student position responsible for running the garden during the summer at the height of the growing season, Oswald said. Right now, the garden is maintained by dedicated volunteers.
To learn more about the garden and how to get involved, visit www.plu.edu/~garden.