A student trying to establish a community garden in the Quad is working with University officials to ensure the garden will be effective and live on for several semesters.
Scott Hefner, a junior in environmental design in architecture, proposed the idea for the garden in the Think Outside the Brick Competition last fall and won second place.
Hefner, also a co-chair of the Quad Sustainability Committee, is in the process of getting the garden approved after his initial proposal was denied.
“The original idea was to have window planters hang in the dorms, but they didn’t meet the strict building interior codes”, said Hefner. “The garden, which can provide individual or group plots, has more opportunities for development.”
Think Outside the Brick is a competition designed to make students think about how to make campus more sustainable, efficient or environmentally responsible. Projects were judged based on their feasibility, scalability and campus impact.
David Dean, sustainability outreach coordinator, said there are many questions from University Housing concerning the implementation of Hefner’s garden. These concerns include who will take care of the garden over the summer, the longevity of the construction materials and how the garden will support itself for future harvests.
Once the garden is fully certified, Hefner will receive $500 to fund the project – not much considering the amount of care a community garden requires, said Dean.
“Everyone thinks it is a great idea, and staff has been spending many hours working with students to figure out how to best implement it,” Dean said. “What happens when he graduates? What happens if there’s no sustainability commission? These are questions we need to ask now.”
Dean also said that proposals for Think Outside the Brick are not automatically implemented after being accepted. For a project to receive the full funding, it needs to be practical and ready to implement within a certain time frame.
The SOUL (Students For Organic Living) Garden, located on Centennial Campus, which won first place in the competition last year, underwent a similar process during its approval, according to co-founder Lauren Morris, a senior in biological sciences.
Morris said she and Katie McKnight, the other SOUL co-founder, had a lot of trouble finding a location on campus, their original goal. They proposed the field next to Fox Labs, near First Year College and the Court of North Carolina as possible locations, but all were vetoed by University Architects and Housing.
“Despite the problems, they were very willing to work with us,” Morris said.
The SOUL Garden was eventually built on Centennial Campus, next to a Lake Raleigh dam.
Lisa Johnson, a University Architect, said she wants to find a way to make Hefner’s garden work.
“The competition is great,” Johnson said. “But we want to find a way to be more involved with the students earlier in the process so that their proposals can be successful.”
All campus development projects must adhere to guiding principles outlined in the university’s physical master plan, according to Tom Skolnicki, university landscape architect.
“Every new building or structure needs to complement the environment that it’s in,” Skolnicki said. “Many places on campus, such as the Court of North Carolina, have strong images and special meanings to people.”
There will be a meeting later this week with University Housing, the chair of sustainability for Student Government and Quad officials to discuss a plan for the future of the garden.
Hefner said he hopes the garden will help inspire students to eat sustainably even beyond their college careers.
“A lot of people don’t think about growing their own stuff, but it really doesn’t take that much effort,” Hefner said. “Hopefully it’ll become a habit that people will continue after they graduate.”
