Garden Commons

Nearly six months ago, with the thanks of so many great people, we built an incredible expanded site for the Garden Commons at the University of Louisville. This is my second major fundraising experience and a proud accomplishment of mine. The group is now under the care and influence of a fantastic group of students. And, Louisville Grows as always, is still providing consulting and guidance.

Courier Journal, June 25, 2011Chloe Crabtree watched her grandfather raise cattle and hay and tend a large garden while growing up in Monroe County in Southern Kentucky.
On Saturday morning, the University of Louisville junior plunged into a farming venture of a different sort: —a 6,000-square-foot organic garden wedged between roadways and parking lots on the Belknap Campus.

Along with about 45 students and other volunteers, Crabtree helped expand a project called Garden Commons by planting crops in raised beds, watering herbs and vegetables and building a greenhouse.

“I want everyone to experience a little bit of agriculture, know how to grow your own food, have the pride of growing it,” she said. “Some people wouldn't be that interested in it from the campus, but they at least get to see it and how it's done.”

The garden was developed last spring by U of L Fulbright scholar Paige Battcher, the university's Cultural Center and the nonprofit organization Louisville Grows.

Other features of the expansion include six raised garden beds, bringing the total to 10; two 270-gallon rain barrels whose water will be used in the garden; and compost bins.

The harvest from the beds — tomatoes, squash, eggplant and other vegetables, along with herbs such as basil, cilantro and dill — will be used in cooking classes on campus, Crabtree said. The food also may be used in dining halls starting this fall.

Expanding the garden cost $26,000. An anonymous donor contributed $12,500, and Netherlands-based paint and coating producer AkzoNobel, which employs 60 workers in Louisville, added $13,500.

John Wolff, managing director for wood finishes and adhesives for AkzoNobel, said the company has focused in recent years on sustainable initiatives. It has donated a greenhouse to Brandeis Elementary and funded an outdoor classroom at Pewee Valley Junior Academy.

AkzoNobel employees and their families were on hand to help at Garden Commons.

“It's always fun to be together as a team, and you get the satisfaction out of helping something grow,” Wolff said.

The project fits in with U of L's “urban mission” of educating people who live in a city about how to live healthy, sustainable lives, said Michael Anthony, director of the Cultural Center.

“What we're trying to show people here is that, yes, even in your backyard, in the middle of a bustling city, you can plant your own food, you can grow your own,” he said. “So really it's teaching our students and our community that it can be done.”

Find more on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/gardencommons/