Berks

Established 2023

Mission: 

The goal of the garden is to strengthen our campus community, enhance partnerships and collaboration on campus, as well as be a way to address issues related to sustainability and environmental/social/economic justice and equity.

Accomplishments:

We hosted a Campus Garden Opening Ceremony and Earth Day Celebration on April 17th, 2023, where we planted our first crops!

Our very own Dr. Mahsa Kazempour was the recipient of the 2023 Sustainability Champion Award!

Funding:

• Hillkirk Family Endowment for Sustainability and Ethics

Facilities: 

• Four raised beds for food crops: two 6.5′ x 3.5′ x 17″ and two 6.5′ x 3.5′ x 32″
• A circular native pollinator basin 

Co-curricular connections: 

• The Berks Sustainability Council’s Campus Garden Committee oversees the garden’s maintenance and care
• Students volunteer at the garden for courses that require service-learning, like BiSC 3, Earth 150, Earth 002N and other agriculture courses.
• Biology and horticulture students volunteer to maintain the garden.

Community Partnerships:

• Berks LaunchBox runs a market stand in partnership with Penn State Health St. Joseph; in future years, we plan to send our produce there