The Beginning of the Student Fall Garden

Today, Students for Sustainability uprooted most of the leftovers from the summer garden and began preparing the beds for a beautiful fall garden. What we will be planting:

Pumpkins
Kale
Brussel Sprouts
Onions
Broccolli
Winter Squash
Various Flowers
Any other suggestions?

This semester we’re not only trying to get more students involved in the Organic Garden Initiative, but we hope to perform more community outreach by bringing children from various elementary schools out to the arboretum. We’ll also be planning workshops that will span from topics such as the ‘how-tos’ of gardening to discussions on the many economic, political, and community issues surrounding food production and health. Furthermore, we’ll be hosting special events in collaboration with other student groups that will make the arboretum more visible. It’s going to be a great semester!

A side note:

Last night at the second annual Eat Alabama celebration, I was pleasantly reminded of just how wonderful it is to eat fresh, local food (the goat cheese grits, by the way, were my favorite dish). But beyond pure taste, what this celebration highlighted was the sense of community that food can create. People were eating, drinking, laughing, and dancing together–genuinely enjoying each other’s presence under the soft glow that emanated from a setting summer sun.
I know that as a whole our culture has begun to forget how powerful food can be in fostering human bonds, but I always find comfort in events like this one because I realize that such a relationship between food and community will always exist. It's just up to us to remember the happiness we can experience when we eat together.

Photographs to be posted soon.