On November 7, 2013, a group of St. Mary’s University students and faculty visited the St. Edward’s student garden. The St. Mary’s group consisted of eleven students and a faculty member that were interested in seeing how the St. Edward’s student garden operates in hopes of starting their own. They also visited nearby Southwestern University for another perspective on how student gardens run.
St. Mary’s was greeted by Peter Beck, Program Director of PSM in Environmental Management and Sustainability and Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Policy; John Cotter, Assistant Professor of Geography; Cristina Bordin, Special Assistant to the President and Sustainability Coordinator; Students for Sustainability Officers Janelle Sylvester and Nicole Monteiro; as well as Student Garden Coordinator Dominic Dominguez.
The St. Mary’s students and faculty were taken to the student garden, where they were introduced to the garden that the Students for Sustainability maintains and informed how it functions. St. Mary’s group was also taken to the greenhouse, which is located on the top of the John Brooks Williams Natural Sciences Center – North Building, to observe where the garden’s seedlings are tended to before being transplanted in the garden. This strategy is utilized to increase the success of growing organic vegetables.
An important aspect in the cultivation of vegetation is proper soil structure. While in the greenhouse, St. Mary’s Environmental Science group learned how to blend sand, peat, and vermiculite. This careful mixture allows for efficient water allocation, greatly increasing the probability of success for the growing plants. Edible vegetation that Students for Sustainability planted included kale, beats, radishes, squash, cucumbers, carrots, and basil. The group was then lead to the cafeteria for lunch where Café Bon Appetit utilizes produce raised in the garden for locally-grown, organic meals.
One St. Mary’s student commented, “What St. Edward’s is doing here is great – composting, gardening, and the support for environmental initiatives by both faculty and staff is truly to commendable. In the future, my wish is that we can link our environmental programs, allowing for our shared values and interests to be obtained.”
For additional information on the garden, contact Dominic Dominguez, student garden coordinator or Thomas LaPoint, sustainability graduate assistant.