New Campus Community Garden Approved
The Facilities and Planning
Committee at UH has recently
approved the location and building
of a new Campus Community Garden.
Though the garden�s location has
needed adjustment previously, this
new garden comes as a result of
considerable planning, funding, and
professional consultation, with the
goal of a permanent, beautiful,
thriving source of edible
vegetation.
UH recently partnered with Urban
Harvest, a nonprofit organization
which specializes in growing gardens
in urban areas. In fact, UH is
fortunate to have Suzy Fischer as
the garden designer, as she is a
landscape architect who has been
actively involved in designing
vegetable gardens for the past 20
years.
The new garden will be built in
Cougar Woods, an area off of Wheeler
and Cullen on the southwest corner
of the campus. The final location,
of several researched, was selected
based upon its exposure to sunlight
and water drainage capabilities.
The garden will consist of fifteen
beds, each 5 feet in width to permit
reaching to the middle from both
sides. Bed wall blocks on the sides
will provide places for gardeners to
sit or kneel.
Irrigation lines to the bed will
permit sufficient watering, and the
garden will be maintained primarily
by student workers and volunteers,
and overseen by members of CLASP
(Community Learning Agricultural
Sustainability Program).
Urban Harvest will be available for
future consultation as the garden is
maintained and produces vegetables.
The garden will also contain a
feature that will both enhance its
beauty and welcome needed,
pollinating insects. Sixty-five red
and white rose plants will be
installed on the outer perimeters of
the garden, on behalf of the Cystic
Fibrosis Foundation. Funding for the
roses was generously provided by the
River Oaks Garden Club.
�The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is
honored and thrilled to have the 65
Roses Garden planted at the
University of Houston in honor of
all those special individuals with
cystic fibrosis,� said Sissy Boyd,
Executive Director, Texas Gulf Coast
Chapter, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
�It will be very special for our
walkers to stroll through the 65
Roses Garden at our Great Strides
Taking Steps to Cure Cystic Fibrosis
walk each May on campus. We are
grateful to the River Oaks Garden
Club and the University of Houston
for making such a lasting tribute
happen!�
Aside from using the vegetables in
the campus dining recipes, the
garden will also serve as an
educational tool, as it functions as
a learning laboratory for classes
such as Plant Physiology.
The new garden is sure to be the
most productive and beautiful yet,
and the campus is looking forward to
beginning crop planting this summer.
�Our club�s Civic Contribution
Committee is impressed with the
important work of Cystic Fibrosis
and the University of Houston�s
enhancement and preservation of
their green spaces. We are delighted
to be associated with this project
and are please to contribute to such
a meaningful endeavor,� said Kelty
Crain, President of River Oaks
Garden Club.
For more information about the
Campus Community Garden and how to
get involved, contact Garden
Coordinator, Leah Wolfthal at
lwolftha@central.uh.edu.
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