Amidst a recent whirlwind of development on campus, it may be easy to overlook the new UW-L Campus Community Garden (CCG) that sprouted up this summer.

The CCG is a raised-bed garden near the Archaeology Building where students who are interested in gardening can volunteer. Working at the CCG is primarily geared toward students on campus during the summer and is maintained by the Botany and Campus Garden Club.

Excess produce is donated to the community. This summer, much of it was donated to local farmers markets, but UW-L chemistry professor Nadia Carmosini, who co-advises the Botany and Campus Garden Club along with biology professor Beth Paluch, is coordinating with the UW-L campus food pantry to donate there in the future.

“The garden is an option for students to get involved on campus during the summer. It is one of the few campus organizations in which that’s possible,” said Carmosini.

Whitney Swanson, a UW-L graduate student and garden volunteer, got involved in part because of her interest in urban agriculture.

“Having a successful campus garden is a great tool for students to learn how they can grow their own food, be a little more self-sustaining or just learn what a pepper plant looks like,” said Swanson.

The idea for the CCG burgeoned as a number of students who, after seeing gardens on other UW campuses, thought that a garden could benefit the UW-L community as well. Among these students was recent UW-L graduate Alison Thaiss who, in association with the campus Joint Committee for Environmental Sustainability, spearheaded the CCG initiative. Although the idea was proposed nearly two years ago, various logistical obstacles have delayed the project.  With the garden finally coming to fruition this summer, UW-L joins other UW system schools with campus gardens including Eau Claire, Madison, Milwaukee, Oshkosh, Parkside, Stevens Point and Superior.

In the past, the CCG site was home to the Merlin Red Cloud Jr. Native American Herb and Vegetable Garden. Red Cloud Jr. was a member of the Ho Chunk Nation who shared his knowledge of traditional Native American gardening and provided many of the heirloom seeds that made the original garden possible. The CCG will carry on the tradition of Red Cloud Jr. to enrich the campus community.

At the campus level, the garden is in a visible place and brings a sense of culture to campus that can be appreciated by campus faculty, staff, students and visitors alike. And at the individual level, it helps students understand what growing their own food actually entails and gives them the experiential knowledge to begin their own garden in the future, according to Carmosini.

Volunteers also get the perk of first dibs on produce from the garden. Produce, explains Carmosini, has optimal taste and nutrition.

“The things we grow are very nutritious because you are literally eating them at the peak of freshness,” she said. “Anything you get from the store simply doesn’t compare.”

“Many students have a limited dietary repertoire,” said Carmosini, “and learning to take new vegetables, grow them and make something out of them can be a great learning experience.”

Students interested in supporting the CCG can get involved with the Botany and Campus Garden Club. Although many of the volunteer opportunities at the CCG will only be available in the summer, students can still get involved in the fall and spring.

Those involved with the CCG are excited for its future.

“Students interested in getting involved with the garden should jump right in and not be shy,” said Swanson. “Gardening experience is not required. It’s a learning experience and an ongoing community project.”

“We’re starting small,” adds Carmosini, “but the administration has already said that if we make it work and it’s well-received then expansion is possible.”