UNews - Kyle Robinson

Campus garden reaps harvest

trevor.kenney — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:03:15 +0000

Its roots may be humble but the legacy of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's first campus garden is truly grand.

An initiative with community in mind, the garden enjoyed its first harvest this fall. There should be many more to come.

"For a first year, I think we did really well," Stephen McGlenn, president of the Campus Roots Garden Cooperative, says. "We weren't expecting an incredibly huge garden because the first year takes a lot of work and a lot of co-ordinating of volunteers. It was challenging at times but in the end, everyone felt really good about it, especially the community building aspects of what making a garden is all about."

Located near the Parkway Service Complex, the fenced facility consisted of nine private plots (each 144 square feet) and a large communal plot. McGlenn estimates some 35 people were directly involved in renting and planting the plots but at any given time, with the involvement of family members, more than 60 people contributed to the garden's success.

Challenges were what you'd expect from a typical garden, including the co-ordination of volunteer weeding efforts. One unique difficulty was a lack of water available to the gardeners due to construction activities on campus.

"Water conservation was a huge challenge. With the area construction, our water was turned off for the better part of three weeks, and it forced us how to learn to use water effectively," says McGlenn, a fourth-year Native American Studies major.

Learning, it would turn out, proved to be a common theme throughout the summer.

"The cross-generational learning from the veteran gardeners, their experience and their love of gardening, really translated to the younger students who maybe didn't have that knowledge but really wanted to learn," says McGlenn. "That sharing of knowledge really got people excited about the project."

Students, staff, faculty and extended family members all had a hand in maintaining the garden and in the end, reaped benefits from its harvest. All extra produce was earmarked for local food banks.

Plans for next year's garden include planting specific plots for different campus departments.

"We're going to try and have a plot specifically for the daycare, one for the Native Studies Department and so on so that departments can hold events using food that they've grown on campus," says McGlenn.

It doesn't stop there, as the group submitted a proposal to the City of Lethbridge's Plan Your City project about incorporating the community garden concept into the city plan.

"Our proposal talked about how beneficial these gardens are, not only for healthy eating, community building and active living, but also for lessening our dependence on fossil fuels and promoting sustainable technologies."

GET THE FACTS

• The garden featured a variety of vegetables, including potatoes, peas, beans, carrots, varieties of lettuce and selected herbs.

• The communal plot included companion plants like marigolds to attract certain predators that would aid in the control of pests.

• Student Kyle Robinson initiated the community garden project before McGlenn took over. Following his graduation in Apr. 2010, a new executive will be created. "For me, it's almost been the climax of my undergraduate degree. Putting something together and having something tangible that I can point to in the future and say, "We put that together," is pretty fulfilling," says McGlenn.

Campus garden reaps harvest

trevor.kenney — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:47:58 +0000

Its roots may be humble but the legacy of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's first campus garden is truly grand.

An initiative with community in mind, the garden enjoyed its first harvest this fall. There should be many more to come.

Learning, it would turn out, proved to be a common theme throughout the summer.

Students, staff, faculty and extended family members all had a hand in maintaining the garden and in the end, reaped benefits from its harvest. All extra produce was earmarked for local food banks.

Plans for next year's garden include planting specific plots for different campus departments.

It doesn't stop there, as the group submitted a proposal to the City of Lethbridge's Plan Your City project about incorporating the community garden concept into the city plan.

GET THE FACTS

• The garden featured a variety of vegetables, including potatoes, peas, beans, carrots, varieties of lettuce and selected herbs.

• The communal plot included companion plants like marigolds to attract certain predators that would aid in the control of pests.

Robinson presents Earthship Biotecture

trevor.kenney — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 22:34:54 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge student Kyle Robinson is presenting Earthship Biotecture, Thursday, June 11, 7 p.m. in Galileo's Gallery.
Open to everyone, this free admission event will see Robinson cover the concept of earthship biotecture, the six principles of earthship biotecture, and what is happening with earthships around the world today.
Robinson was a key figure in the creation of the Campus Roots Community Garden on the U of L campus.
The earthship concept is a building that will take care of people by encountering and interacting with the biology and physics of the earth.
An earthship is defined by the following 6 principles:
• Thermal/Solar Heating & Cooling
• Solar & Wind Electricity
• Contained Sewage Treatment
• Building with Natural & Recycled Materials
• Water Harvesting
• Food Production
For more information on earthship biotecture, check out http://www.earthship.net/

Support for campus garden an easy sell

trevor.kenney — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:30:13 +0000

With overwhelming support from ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students, as well as several departments and organizations on campus, it's no surprise the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Students' Union (ULSU) recently allotted $17,000 from the QIP (Quality Initiative Program) budget to provide start-up funding for the Campus Roots Garden Cooperative.

"The garden is a great project; not only is it a way to build the U of L community, it's a way to improve the environment and change the way we think about food," says Adam Vossepoel, ULSU president.

Construction of the garden is slated to begin April 18-19, and will be the first sustainable cooperative garden project at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

Students, staff and faculty will utilize the space one of two ways: through a private plot, for those who wish to devote more time to growing their herbs and vegetables, or through the cooperative portion, for those who have less time or experience but are nonetheless interested in participating.

"This will provide a great opportunity for members of the U of L community to relax during some of the countless hours they spend on campus," says Kyle Robinson, the U of L student who spearheaded the community garden project after watching a video on the topic.
"We are striving to find new ways to reduce our reliance on what we take, and I thought putting a garden on campus was a great way to put our words into action."

Robinson undertook extensive research on existing cooperative gardens to choose a model that would best meet the needs of U of L community members.

"What's cool about this garden is it will be kind of a showcase of the mix of what works best on other campuses across Canada," he says.

The garden will be located near the Park Way Service Building, close to the south end of campus.

"When we first got word of where the garden would be, we weren't sure if the location was ideal because it is so far away," says Robinson, adding that he now realizes the location is actually quite strategic after learning there are several developments planned for the area.

Judging by the feedback Robinson has received on the project so far, the Campus Roots Cooperative Garden will inevitably be a success with students, staff and faculty alike.

"The QIP funding approval doesn't only show what a few representatives want, but is reflective of what the students, staff and faculty on campus want," says Robinson.

Vossepoel agrees, adding that a legacy will be established once the garden is complete.

"Part of the ULSU's role is to build student life and culture at the U of L," says Vossepoel. "This cooperative garden is being developed by students, for students; naturally, we give our full support to the initiative, which will benefit the U of L community for years to come."

UNews - Kyle Robinson

Campus garden reaps harvest

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Campus garden reaps harvest

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Robinson presents Earthship Biotecture

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Support for campus garden an easy sell

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