THE MONMOUTH COLLEGE EDUCATIONAL GARDEN
WHAT IS THE GARDEN?Most people on campus call the Monmouth College Educational Garden just the Educational Garden or even just the Garden. Started in 2010, the Monmouth College Educational garden began with a grant sponsored by faculty, administration, and trustees of the college. Since then, the project has been growing rapidly. The Educational Garden is funded primarily by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This money has been used for community development projects, collaboration with local schools, and for maintaining and adding new technology to the Educational Garden.
The Educational Garden is located on the southwestern side of campus at 1042 East Broadway. The main goals of our garden are health, beauty and permanence. We use both intensive and 100% organic agricultural methods. Plowing and tilling with a BCS diesel walk-behind tractor (which is also used to plow and till property throughout Monmouth for families without access to a plow and till), using horse manure from Rainbow Riders (a local stable), and growing our seedlings under grow lights from the local police department, this truly is a community project. On less than an acre of land, we have: compost bins fed by food service and the Garden House vegetable scraps; garden beds for twenty-some-odd vegetables; a berry patch; a mini-orchard of semi-dwarf trees; a grape arbor; bees; a rainwater system for irrigation run by a solar powered pump; an edible herb garden; a small rain garden; a flower garden; a small prairie plot of grasses and wildflowers, and seating in the shade. The Educational Garden is currently managed by a team of faculty and students who have labeled themselves the Garden Crew. Craig Watson coordinates the Educational Gardens regular activities, workshops, and other events. Craig can be contacted:
Feel free to look around our site. You will find information on upcoming events, blog posts from the Garden Crew, photos from the garden, and much more. Happy gardening! _________________ | UPCOMING EVENTS
Garden Crew Meeting
Saturday, January 28th 7 am, The Garden House, Monmouth College Come join the Garden Crew for the first meeting of the semester. We will be discussing projects we will be working on, including seed orders. Throughout the winter, meetings will be held on Saturday mornings for a few hours. ________________________NEWS FROM THE GARDENMCEG Photo Featured on EPA WebsiteEmery Johnson-Miles' photo of a group of perennial flowers is now being featured on the EPA's website to highlight their sponsorship of various environmental education programs across the Midwest.
First Solar Panels at Monmouth College!Over fall break this past term, Brad Sturgeon installed the first solar panels at Monmouth College, right in the MCEG! They will be used to power the water pump that pushes the water up to our barrels so we can water plants.
WEEKLY UPDATE: School is out of session at the moment, but students are working hard to begin planning seed orders, garden layouts, etc... Check back for more information!
If I Stop By, What Can I Do? Right now, there is nothing to do in the garden. But feel free to come to our Crew meetings on Saturday mornings at the Garden House to plan the upcoming year's garden.
Create an AASHE Account Today!
Monmouth College has renewed its membership with the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) for a second year. AASHE has a wealth of information, including projects going on at other campuses, opportunities to connect with other students and faculty, and information on local and national conferences. Please utilize this resource by creating an account today! All you have to do is:
1) Go to http://www.aashe.org/ 2) In the upper right hand corner, select "Create an Account" 3) Follow the steps and you are done! |
