Student garden achieves 'sustainable' status

In 2007, Laura Fralich '11 spent four months working on organic farms in South America. Upon her return, the Environmental Studies major realized that Skidmore should have its own organic garden and committed herself to seeing it through. This April, in celebration of Earth Day, the Environmental Action Club hosted a Skidmore Student Garden party to break ground for the garden's third season. 

And though Fralich graduated this May, it is clear that her brainstorm is now a Skidmore tradition. Says Sustainability CoordinatorRiley Neugebauer,"The garden has reached that critical point where it can no longer be called a new initiative, but is instead a proven resource for students, for faculty, and for Sustainable Skidmore as a tangible sustainability project." 

Proof of that is Gabby Stern's return for her second summer as student garden manager and the addition of North Woods stewards Charlie Glassberg '12, Adam Schmelkin '12, and Maranda Duval '11 as regular contributors. All Environmental Studies majors, they each put in a minimum of 12 hours a week.

Stern, a junior from Westchester, N.Y., learned about food systems and equality through her environmental studies courses, which spurred her interest in the garden. And last year when she first ate vegetables she'd grown herself, it was a "cool feeling. It's important to know where your food comes from." This year, she was the first to bite into the first ripe vegetable - a radish!

Schmelkin, also a Government major, spent his spring semester at an environmental policy internship in Washington, D.C., and says he craved an experience that would get him outside. Ditto for Glassberg, who says he simply wanted to experience gardening and get his hands dirty.

Like Fralich, Duval studied abroad, in her case in Tanzania, India, New Zealand, and Mexico, with the international honors program "Rethinking Globalization." The strong focus on local, grassroots projects struck a chord with her. She says it made her want to "discover my own place back home."

According to Stern, the student team has planted beans, greens, spinach, beets, radishes, peppers, carrots, kale, Swiss chard, broccoli, tomatoes, and squash.

New this year to the garden is the expansion and reconfiguration of the garden beds based on permaculture design principles. The raised, circular beds with interior pathways "increase the size of the same space," says Stern, adding that it's more interactive too. About 20 students attended the January meeting of the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New York, where they were exposed to these new ideas. A consultant also paid Skidmore a visit.

Says Neugebauer, "The local food movement is only getting stronger in communities, on campuses, and beyond, so it is great to have the garden as a way to highlight student commitment to the idea of creating better connections between ourselves, the food we eat, and the land that it comes from.

Click here for more on Sustainable Skidmore, including the student garden.