Campus gardens provide food, community

The Carolina Community Garden has provided fresh, sustainable produce to University employees for 15 years. More than a plot for growing fruits and vegetables, the garden is a place where Tar Heels and community members develop gardening skills, learn about healthy living and social responsibility and even engage in academic pursuits.

“When you step into the space, it is beautiful, welcoming and makes any of the issues you’re dealing with disappear,” said Milenka Jean-Baptiste, a doctoral candidate at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. “Being able to put your hands in the soil, plant something, nurture it and come back a few weeks later to find that you contributed to the growth of the whole plant that can help others is really satisfying and rewarding.”

Kerri Wahl (left), a longtime volunteer, talks with program manager Claire Lorch as they work in the Carolina Community Garden. (Johnny Andrews/UNC-Chapel Hill)

The one-third acre garden on Wilson Street is an engagement program of the North Carolina Botanical Garden. In addition to vegetables and fruit, the garden has two beehives for producing honey, logs for growing mushrooms and a rain garden to catch water runoff. It has an extensive compost system and six accessible beds for ADA compliance.

The garden distributes produce weekly year-round to around 400 Carolina employees, about 5,000 pounds of food per year or 35 tons in all. University employees also receive tomato, pepper and basil plants, paired with organic fertilizer, so they can grow plants at home.

“I enjoy the distributions where we get to interact with recipients because they appreciate it so much,” said Claire Lorch, garden manager.

Students in several Carolina courses can get credit for working at the garden. “I’m proud of the way it gives back,” said Jean-Baptiste. “It allows people to physically get our hands dirty and see where some of our food comes from. It also allows us to give back to workers. In these ways, I think the garden is teaching us about what it means to hold on to one another and work hand in hand.”

Members of the University community line up for one of the regular, free vegetable distributions organized by the Carolina Community Garden. (Johnny Andrews/UNC-Chapel Hill)

For several years, garden staff have worked with a dietitian from Orange County Extension, who demonstrates how to prepare several dishes with harvested vegetables. They also give out samples and share the recipes with garden recipients.

As many as 60 volunteers per week come to the workdays on Sunday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Volunteers do multiple tasks – weeding, prepping beds for planting, building bamboo trellises, watering, harvesting produce and composting.

“It’s very gratifying working with volunteers; there’s a real community out there,” said Lorch. “Working together for a common mission unites people. It’s a great way to be outside and take a break from whatever is going on in your life.”

Gary Duggan, a longtime volunteer, shows senior Sofia Brantley how to manage the compost pile. (Johnny Andrews/UNC-Chapel Hill)

The botanical garden also sponsors Edible Campus UNC, a project to remove barriers to free, fresh produce. Anyone on campus can forage in these gardens, which feature a variety of seasonal produce, perennial pollinators and herbs.

The main garden is behind Davis Library, with other plots outside Lenoir Dining Hall, Fetzer Hall, Rams Head Plaza and the Student and Academic Services Building Plaza. Stacy, Graham and Hardin residence halls also have edible gardens.

“If you’re picking up a fig or tomato, maybe you can stop to appreciate the landscape and feel connected with it,” said Kyle Parker, Edible Campus UNC coordinator.

Employees and volunteers work in the Carolina Community Garden. (Johnny Andrews/UNC-Chapel Hill)

During the academic year, a student leadership team of six to eight work-study students meet weekly to plan workshops, plant giveaways, food drives and educational programming.

“The beautiful thing out here is the people,” said Parker. “My whole day is one positive interaction after another. I come to work and leave feeling better than I did when I got here.”