Kellyn Shoecraft and Cassie Hoffman weed and water plants at the Honey Patch, one of two new community gardens at Duke. | Megan Morr
Duke Shows Its Green Thumb
Community gardens bring staff and students together, grow food for student plates
Friday, May 22, 2009
Duke faculty and staff are invited show off their green thumbs and get involved with two gardens maintained by faculty, staff and students. (Video by Bryan Roth)
Durham, NC -- The academic year may be over at Duke, but work at the university’s community gardens is a year-round activity.
Faculty and staff are invited show off their green thumbs and get involved with two gardens maintained by faculty, staff and students. The gardens are a collaborative project to bring students and Duke employees together to promote sustainable, small-scale farming, while encouraging more interaction between everyone at Duke.
“At any university, you find people whose life experiences are so different,” said Charlotte Clark, a professor at the Nicholas School for the Environment and faculty advisor for the community garden project. “You can take people who might not have a lot in common academically or professionally, put them together in a garden like this and roles may be completely reversed from their normal situations on campus.”
The Duke Community Garden, which sits next to the Home Depot Smart Home on Faber Street, has six raised beds featuring tomatoes, radishes, flowers and a plethora of greens. There are plans to expand the garden by adding terraced levels with more space for beds of soil. A second garden called The Honey Patch is near the northeast corner of the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, by Anderson and Lewis streets. The Honey Patch gets its name for six bee boxes maintained by Duke's Apiary Club that collect honey on-site.
Both gardens operate through money from the Sustainable Duke Green Grant Fund, which was established by Executive Vice President Tallman Trask and supports projects that yield environmental, social and economic benefits to Duke and the Durham community.
Scott Steinberg, Trinity ’09, said that a long-term goal for the gardens is to get freshly grown Duke produce into eateries on campus. In the meantime, fruits and vegetables are being shared between the Smart Home and Freeman Center for Jewish Life. Students also anticipate setting up a stand on West Campus to sell produce. Steinberg added that the main goal of the gardens is to simply bring people together.
“It’s just a great way to take a break from the norm, de-stress and interact with others you wouldn’t normally have a chance to,” he said. “It’s about getting to know people one-on-one.”
Over the summer, a student intern will take care of the community gardens, providing weeding, watering and composting. Faculty and staff can get involved any time with garden maintenance or outreach activities. The Honey Patch is maintained by Nicholas School students with assistance from the Apiary Club.
To volunteer or for more information, visit Duke Sustainability or contact Ryan Pfirrmann-Powell, the sustainability education and outreach coordinator for Duke Sustainability, at ryan.powell@duke.edu or call 660-1470.
