Maintaining the Garden

Several members of the committee have asked about how we might go about maintaining the garden once it is established. Below are examples of several schools that have implemented learning gardens and the people who help take care of them.

UW Tacoma-- The UW Tacoma learning garden is supported through a class called "Plants and People," and two students who volunteer their time to helping maintain the garden. Maintenance includes: watering, weeding, planting, harvesting, etc. to keep the garden running.

Penn State University-- The Montgomery County Cooperative Extension Horticulture Department, Montgomery County Master Gardener Volunteers, and the horticulture industry help to maintain Penn State's learning garden.

The Ute Ethnobotany Project Learning Gardens-- The Ute Ethnobotany Project, initially started with the help of Jeffery Ventlin's class, is supported and run by students from the Northern Ute Nation.

Learning Garden's Laboratory-- Graduate students enrolled in Portland State University's Leadership in Ecology, Cultures and Learning Program help with a science curriculum where Middle school students can learn about ecology and the garden, through direct, hands-on experience the process of growing and harvesting food. More than 200 Middle school students learn and in turn take care of Portland State's learning gardens.

Yale-- Yale's learning gardens are jointly maintained by weekly volunteers 1pm-5pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, and several professors who use the garden as a resource in their course work. The school hosts six undergraduate interns every summer to learn about the connections between sustainability, food, and agriculture.

Evergreen State College-- A farm team made up of students from the Ecology department help to maintain the college's learning garden.

University of Florida--The demonstration gardens of Florida University are maintained by the students whose classes are supplemented by it, and by regular volunteers.

Lane Community College--The community learning gardens of Lane Community College are maintained through a combination of students, volunteers, work study participants, internships, and students seeking service learning hours, or with the permission of their professors, class credit.