Needs From: Winthrop University

The Winthrop University Educational Community Garden is an inclusive outdoor place that supports research, collaborative teaching, experiential learning, and community building.  The garden is a safe space that fosters fairness, equity, and inclusion across race, gender, age, religion, identity, socioeconomic class, and gardening experience, while nurturing values of courage, truth, justice, compassion, dignity, humility,  and service.  Participating in the community gardens strengthens ecological literacy, systems thinking, futures thinking, community collaboration, values, strategic and critical thinking, and self-awareness. The Garden uses raised bed structures using organic gardening practices,  “a comprehensive, holistic approach to gardening in a way that maintains and  supports a healthy, balanced ecosystem and biodiversity.”  Organic gardening reduces exposure to harmful chemicals, improves the flavor of produce, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.  A portion of the food is donated to community agencies that are providing food security.

Volunteers will assist with various tasks:

January and February will require more frequent days to clear the fence of brush and general cleanup of the garden, weeding, moving soil, or helping with the composter. 

We will meet less frequently in March and April, focusing on planting and maintaining the garden, weeding, moving soil, and helping with composter. 

The Rocket® is an in-vessel composter for on-site treatment of organic wastes.

Winthrop collects pre-consumer food waste from Thomson Cafeteria and mixes it with wood chips as it is dumped into the Rocket.  After about four weeks, it is necessary to separate the compost and wood chips by sifting the mixture.  The final compost can then be used in the community garden to amend soil in plots. 

Food waste composting clearly illustrates the process of "closing the loop," and how human consumption is part of a larger ecological system.  Students gain insight into systems thinking, critical thinking, problem-solving, self-awareness, normative thinking, and collaborative learning.  Participating shows that individual and collective actions can influence environmental solutions for lifelong sustainability advocacy.