CREATING
COMMUNITY
THROUGH FOOD: THE
ITHACA COLLEGE
ORGANIC GARDEN
PROJECT
Emma Hileman
Taryn Hubbard
Environmental Research: Michael Smith
Spring 2010
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GARDEN
Fall 2008: Pilot project in
Environmental Science
•Spring 2009: Recipient of
Commit-to-Change research grant
through Environmental Studies &
HSBC
•Spring/Summer: Construction,
Planting and Harvest
•Fall 2009: Horticultural Research
(Taryn & Professor Michael Smith)
•Spring 2010: Organic Growers
of IC, Horticultural Research
(Taryn, Emma, and Professor
Smith)
•
THE ITHACA COLLEGE COMMUNITY
GARDEN
WHAT IS A COMMUNITY GARDEN?
Any piece of
land gardened
by a group of
people.
•Urban, suburban, or rural
•One community plot or many individual plots
•Anywhere: school, hospital, neighborhood,
city
•Sold to market or kept by gardeners
•Things typically grown: Vegetables, fruits,
flowers, community
•Anyone can participate
WHY A COMMUNITY GARDEN?
Benefits to Campus Community:
“Community gardens increase a sense of community
ownership and stewardship. They foster the
development of a community identity and spirit.”
•Different groups of students interacting with one
another
•Interdisciplinary education
•Increase well-being (it’s fun!)
•Free congregation of ideas
•Celebrate food
•Sustainability (Social, Environmental,
Economic)
•
(Gardeningmatters.org)
CONNECTION WITH ITHACA COMMUNITY
Can work with larger community of Ithaca
•
•Farmers,
volunteers, children, families
Participation in production of food for all
•Can lead to further neighborhood organizing:
•
•Physical
location for people to meet, socialize, and learn about
community issues
Increase volunteer and service activities for students
•Fresh produce to community
•
•Working
with programs to supply healthy food to BJM,
GIAC, and South Side Community Center
HEALTH BENEFITS
Gardening: one of the most commonly
practiced types of exercise
•Can eat healthier, more nutrient-rich diets
•Pesticide and fertilizer-free: Organically
grown foods are healthier
•Consumption of local pollen can decrease
seasonal allergies
•Horticulture therapy: Reduce stress,
increase sense of wellness and belonging
•Encourages self-reliance & community
reliance
•Working with fresh food  increase wellbeing
•Medicinal plants
•
(Sherer, 2006)
“A ten percent increase in nearby greenspace was found to decrease a person’s
health complaints in an amount equivalent to a five year reduction in that
person’s age.”
AESTHETICS
Add beauty to community and
“heighten people’s awareness
and appreciation for living
things.”
•83% of residents surveyed
in Chicago believe that
gardens enhance the beauty
of their community
•Can create greenspace for
students, faculty, and staff to
enjoy
•
(Gardeningmatters.org)
BIODIVERSITY ENHANCEMENT
Motivation to conserve biodiversity: closer connection
with land can enhance ecological consciousness
•Evidence shows that people who establish personal
connections with natural areas are more highly
motivated to protect such environments
•Awareness of ecosystem services
(i.e. pollination)
•Native plant cultivation
•“Even the smallest of town gardens
can provide a rich and valuable
sanctuary for a whole host of wildlife.”
•
(qtd in Gaston, 2009).
FOOD PRODUCTION AT ITHACA COLLEGE
Encourages locally grown organic
produce
•Community can access nutrient-rich
foods that may be otherwise
unavailable
•Small-scale agriculture can be up to
100 times more productive per acre
than standard large-scale farming
•CSA Program for faculty and staff
•Garden support
•Knowing where your food comes
from & exactly who is producing it
•Food supply for volunteer community
•Community sharing the harvest
•Food culture
•
or…
OTHER DIRECT BENEFITS TO ITHACA COLLEGE
Engage with local community & cultivate community on campus
•Service and experiential learning foster a better education
•Increase diverse student interaction
•Connect IC to its land
•Educational opportunities: course development, research projects, new learning
facility
•Connection between students & staff (Ithaca College Grounds Department)
•
FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES
•Expansion
of plot & increased production
•Research opportunities: apiary, seed saving, native
plants…
•Compost, vermicompost, and soil fertility
•Integrate into IC Food, Collaborate with other food
groups on campus & Williams garden
•Permaculture demonstration plot
•Established internship
•Season extension (hoop house, greenhouse, cold
frames)
•Provide percentage of food for community
•Marketing & selling of fresh & dried produce
•Collaborate with forest garden & mycology research
“The single greatest lesson the garden teaches
is that our relationship to the planet need not
be zero-sum, and that as long as the sun still
shines and people still can plan and plant, think
and do, we can, if we bother to try, find ways
to provide for ourselves without diminishing the
world.”
Michael Pollan, The Omnivore’s Dilemma
THANK YOU!
Questions and
discussion
•Volunteer opportunities
•
•Contact
gardenIC@gmail.com