A couple dozen spectators recently gathered to celebrate the official dedication of the UIS Campus Community Garden with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Chancellor Susan Koch cut the ribbon in front of the students, faculty, community members, and local media who assembled for the occasion – officially reopening the garden that was first established in 2006.

The garden revamp was first conceived by a group of UIS students for their ENS 271: Introduction to Sustainability class project during the fall 2015 semester. Although it started as a hypothetical project, several students expressed a keen interest in making the community garden a reality again.

According to the official UIS Campus Community Garden Facebook page, the purpose of the garden is to serve as a model of sustainability and act as a clear demonstration of the university’s commitment to student involvement opportunities.

One of the student leaders involved in the project, UIS junior and environmental studies major Rachel Wilham, reminded students that “the most important thing for UIS students to know about the garden is that it is their garden.”

“It is here for everyone to enjoy – you don’t have to know a lot about gardening, and we don’t ask that you donate a lot of time or money to the garden,” Wilham said.

The official dedication and picnic took place two weeks after student volunteers, with help from Leadership for Life, planted a variety of vegetables, spices, and herbs in the garden. This time around, volunteers focused on building a new in-ground compost bin and adding signs to the garden, while also educating those in attendance about how to care for the garden.

Chancellor Koch, who has voiced her support for the garden initiative, tested out her green thumb by planting a row of snap peas with a golden trowel made specially for the occasion.

“We have been very grateful for her support for this project from the start,” said Dr. Megan Styles, an assistant professor in the environmental studies program at UIS whose class spawned the garden revamp initiative in the first place.

The next step for the community garden project will be finding enough volunteers to care for the garden during the swiftly approaching summer months. Finding volunteers to tend the garden was a challenge for organizers the first time around, but Styles said that they’re tackling the issue from a different angle this time around.

“Instead of having students sign up to care for individual plots themselves, this will be a truly collaborative, communal garden where everyone tends and harvests the same space,” Styles said. “This will make it easier for us to get lots of people involved and make sure that it is cared for during the summer.”

According to Styles, part of that effort will include holding more events to raise awareness about the garden on campus and beyond.

“We’ll announce a regular once-a-week work day very soon,” she said.

“We want everyone to be able to enjoy the experience and the harvest,” said Wilham.

Looking ahead to the near future, Styles hopes that the garden will serve as a source of learning for students and community members alike.

“I am developing classes that will use the garden as a space for teaching students about sustainable agricultural practices and the social and health benefits of community gardening,” Styles said.

“We’ll also make sure that faculty build the garden into their classes as a service project, on-campus field trip, or a place to further explore topics discussed in lecture,” Styles added.

Further down the road, student leaders hope to expand the garden and add a dedicated greenhouse for gardeners to plant seedlings in.

Styles and the project’s student leadership team expressed excitement about the future possibilities and opportunities that the garden initiative will provide for UIS students and Springfield community members.

“Students, faculty, and staff could sign up for a share of the produce and get a box of fresh vegetables delivered to them once a week,” Styles said. “The possibilities are endless and much depends on where the student leaders decide to take this.”

Although there is not yet an official organization to oversee the garden project, the student leadership team plans on starting an officially registered student organization to help run and organize the community garden initiative.

If you want to contribute to a greener campus at UIS by getting involved with the community garden, check out the UIS Campus Community Garden’s Facebook page or contact Dr. Styles at [email protected].

Styles added that students can stop by anytime to check their garden out. “Students can also hang out in the garden whenever they like. This is YOUR garden; enjoy it, protect it, tend it, respect it.”

The officially dedicated and reopened UIS Campus Community Garden can be found next to the Shepard House on Toronto Road toward LLCC.