Campus Garden Takes Action Toward Providing Local Food

The unique double-helix path of the campus garden serves to minimize the area of compacted dirt in the garden, allowing the largest amount of area possible to be available for growing plants. (Photo: Rhoda Shirk)

Early Saturday morning two weeks ago, EMU students Lars Åkerson, Nate Derstine, Kaitlin Heatwole, Jon Spicher, Emma Stahl-Wert, Nick Stoddard, and professor Peter Dula could have been seen standing around a patch of grass directly behind the Brunk House, discussing different shapes sketched on scrap pieces of paper. This strange gathering was actually the design process that preceded a lot of digging in the dirt and eventually a completed garden plot.

First, though, this informal design meeting resulted in unanimous agreement on a keyhole shaped, raised-bed garden with paths winding through to prevent unnecessary dirt compaction. The group then began work on a dimunitive patch of dirt in hopes that it would soon become a flourishing campus garden.

With the help of an improvised compass made out of a stake and some twine, a tape measurer, and some shovels applied by willing laborers, the group had the outline of the curvy garden. Then, while Dula tilled up the grass inside of the shape, Stoddard, Heatwole, and Stahl-Wert went to get manure. Shoveling manure is not typically considered highly entertaining work, but the group of three made a hilarious time of it.

The rest of the day consisted of covering the area with layers of important ingredients until the group created a garden parfait of sorts. The first layer was comprised of aromatic goat and cow dung and the second included hundreds of EMU’s very own Weather Vanes, rather like the one being read right now. The group spread out the old newspapers while occasionally pausing to remark on articles of interest, such as Loren Swartzendruber’s inauguration. After covering the ground with a layer of EMU history, compost from our very own cafeteria and other campus debris was piled on top. A week later, Janelle Freed, Abigail Spurrier, Dula and Stahl-Wert added serpentine helical paths reminiscent of Jesus fish to open up access to every point in the garden. These were mulched with wood chips provided by Park Woods debris. The final product is a beautiful piece of fertile ground.

Peter Dula mentioned a few things about the overall purpose and logistics of the project. He noted the garden is a tentative move toward a campus that is able to produce some of its own food. The impetus for the garden has been building for a long time, with both Procurement committee and Earthkeepers entertaining the idea, but the January “How Green Should EMU Be?” campus-wide forum revealed a much more widespread interest from students, faculty, staff and the community than previously realized. Thus, Dula, on behalf of the Creation Care Council Procurement
Committee, decided the only way to start was to start, so that is what they did. He and Nick Stoddard began the garden planning based on the theory that “If you build it, they will come,” or rather, “If you dig it small, interest, involvement, and money will come, and you can expand.” There is a possibility that the cafeteria will be able to use a little of what the garden produces, though the garden could certainly not support the entire cafeteria. Ron Copeland of the Little Grill is also interested in any produce from the garden.

As Dula explains, “We consider this summer to be a pilot project,” and the group that created the garden hopes this project will continue to grow. Dula also mentioned that there maybe some free vegetables out on a table in front of Brunk house sometime this August, so for anyone around for the summer, now they know where to go.

If anyone has interest in this project, keep eyes and ears open for further news, and take a look between Martin and Brunk Houses over the next few months to see how things are progressing in the brand-new, beautiful campus garden.