Tuesday, March 19th, 2024
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Growing at the ‘Ville-age Garden

The Ville-age Garden on campus is a plot used to grow fresh produce, fruit and veggies.

Millersville University student volunteers have been hard at work this summer growing good food for a good cause. The Ville-age Garden on campus is a plot used to grow fresh fruits and veggies. The produce is then donated to the HUB’s Campus Cupboard, which provides assistance to students without food security. The garden is located on South George Street behind the Huntingdon House.

A photo of the gardens before the students started working.

The garden was initially run by Dr. Nadine Garner from the Center of Sustainability. Student organizations such as fraternities, sororities, clubs and sports teams would volunteer to maintain the garden. Since few of these student groups have been able to meet on campus over the last two years, responsibility for the garden had fallen onto a few professors who grew produce there. As students return to campus this fall, student groups are encouraged to reach out and volunteer in the garden.

The gardens in full production.

Lauren Coca , a third year Environmental and Spatial Sciences Major, is a student who had a summer internship working in the garden. She says it is gratifying to be able to help out the local community. She credits Manufacturing Engineering Technology students Jackson Harral and Michael Burns with helping to create trellises that allow for vertical tomato and cucumber gardening. Alan Snavely, a senior studying Molecular Biology, worked closely with Lauren and the team to maintain the garden.

Coca had the opportunity to personally donate produce to the late Ed Weber, who was the head of the Campus Cupboard. “Alan and I got to do our first harvest and bring our first round of veggies to the Campus Cupboard which was a really cool experience for both of us. I’m really glad Ed Weber, the head of the Campus Cupboard, was able to see the literal fruits of our labor before he passed away.”

Students or organizations interested in volunteering to help in the Ville-age garden can learn more  by sending an email to community.engagement@millersville.edu.

 

 

 

 

One reply on “Growing at the ‘Ville-age Garden”

Alan Snavely was the AmeriCorps Vista for this project! Alan taught me everything I needed to know, like advanced biology and botany that was directly applied to our sustainable garden plots initiative.

If you are interested in being a part of the Sustainable Garden Plots project in the future or are interested in being the next Americorps Vista, please reach out to Lori Leaman from the Student Success Network.
Email: Lori.Leaman@millersville.edu

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