By Jessica Kong '16, Staff Writer
The newest addition to Skidmore’s architectural and natural collection, the Skidmore Community Garden , sits cheerfully at the entrance of our campus. Rows of lush, healthy vegetation have been sprouting from the ground just steps outside of the student residence halls since last semester. Curiosity leads one to ask: where do the products of the garden go?
Eliza Hollister ‘15, an Environmental Studies major and current manager of the community garden on campus revealed it all goes to the dining hall. “All the vegetables that we produce, we sell to the dining hall. All the produce that is being grown here will end up in the dining hall in something that they cook, so the students and whoever else is eating there will be consuming the vegetables that are grown in the garden.”
Hollister began her work as the manager last November, breaking ground in front of Wiecking Hall by getting the soil ready for sowing. In the spring of 2014, she and a cohort of ‘green’ volunteers did some preliminary planting. Hollister elaborated on the first steps taken to create this lovely garden: “We couldn’t plant immediately because it was all new and we had to build the garden before we could plant in it. We started in little plant cells and we transplanted [them] to the garden. Some of the peppers were transplanted; we had some cucumber transplants.”
Look for spinach, squash, and carrots the next time you go to the Dining Hall. You may find that nearly every station incorporates some of this produce in the food offered.
Luckily, anyone with a passion for locally grown food can help out, indirectly or more hands-on . The Skidmore Community Garden club maintains an active website (https://www.facebook.com/groups/skidmorecommunitygarden/) and meets every Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m., and help is always welcomed. “Now, it’s mostly harvesting and planting a few things for next year and maintaining what we’ve already got planted, but as the season goes on, our meetings will turn into planning for following years. Thus, if people are interested, there’s a huge amount of stuff that needs to get done. People can come and help out, and people have been coming which is wonderful.” Make sure to check out the Skidmore Community Garden and even help by reaching out to Eliza Hollister and the “green-team.”