Last modified: Wednesday, October 12, 2011
IU Campus Garden Initiative continues to grow
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 12, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The first growing season will soon come to an end at the Bryan House Garden, Indiana University Bloomington's pilot campus garden, but work associated with the IU Campus Garden Initiative is anything but over.
Beginning in November, garden volunteers will contribute their time and energy to the preparation of a new space for cultivation -- the initiative's first central campus garden at Hilltop Garden and Nature Center. This 8,500-square-foot garden will increase the edible gardening space overseen by the Campus Garden Initiative almost 10-fold.
"This is a great opportunity for Hilltop to be seen and used by IU students who may not otherwise be able to experience growing their own food," said Lea Woodard, coordinator of Hilltop Garden and Nature Center. "I am really excited to be part of this initiative."
The Campus Garden Initiative has grown in human capital as well. The Edible Campus Steering Committee was recently formed to develop academic partnerships, community outreach opportunities and volunteer programming in support of edible gardening spaces, such as the Bryan House Garden and the new central campus garden, that enhance the historical character of the IU Bloomington campus. The committee is co-chaired by Sherry Wise and Jennifer Meta Robinson; a list of members is available online.
With the support of campus and community stakeholders, garden initiative organizers hope the central campus garden will become a place where the campus community can engage in food production through curricular and co-curricular programming, providing food for a variety of on- and off-campus vendors.
The Campus Garden Initiative, a project of the IU Office of Sustainability in partnership with Campus Division and Hilltop Gardens, aims to foster environmental and social sustainability by creating interactive, edible gardening spaces on the Bloomington campus.
To learn more about the initiative, visit https://www.indiana.edu/~sustain/Garden/index.html. To volunteer, e-mail iugarden@indiana.edu.
