The United Way Garden Hub Fall Open House will take place at NC’s Daniel J. Patterson Campus on September 27, welcoming visitors from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
This event commemorates a fruitful growing season and the invaluable partnerships that have nurtured the community garden project. Community members are invited to learn about the United Way Garden project, tour the garden, ask gardening questions, and discover volunteer opportunities while building meaningful connections and growing our community.
The NC Greenhouse will host a booth at the event where mums will be available for purchase. Proceeds from the sales will be donated to the United Way Niagara Garden Hub. Additionally, NC Sustainability will operate an information booth during the open house.
Evan DiValentino, Senior Director, Academic Transformation Initiatives, formerly the Associate Dean School of Environment and Horticulture, will also be in attendance to share a few words on behalf of Niagara College. Opening remarks will begin at 11:15 a.m.
The Garden Hub is a collaborative effort between Niagara College and United Way Niagara, aiming to strengthen food security in the region. Nestled within NC’s Daniel J. Patterson Campus, the United Way Garden Hub stands as a community garden supporting local food programs and providing educational avenues for residents.
Niagara College, a longtime United Way supporter, embraced the chance to host a United Way community garden, furthering their aid to the Niagara community.
While the project launched in 2022, Horticultural Technician students worked on the garden during Winter 2023 as part of their Sustainable Food Production course.
Overseeing this endeavor, School of Environment and Horticulture Professor, Mary Jane Clark observed students seamlessly applying classroom teachings to their practical work within the garden. Students started seedlings for transplanting and planted cool season seeds directly into the garden space in April 2023. They also had a trellis building competition for growing peas.
“Sustainable Food Production students prepared beds without tilling, amended soil organically, planted in dense rows and square feet, and built trellises,” Clark explained. “They also devised a year-round planting plan for the garden, aiming to provide continuous access to fresh, local produce for the community.”
Clark noted that NC’s Horticulture Practices course also helped at the garden during spring term.
“I’m very pleased to be part of such a wonderful partnership that supplies food for the community as well as providing our students with practical learning opportunities,” she said. “I’m grateful for the small ways our students can contribute to the great work the United Way team is accomplishing.”
One of the students, Luke Balk, transitioned from being a Horticultural Technician student to the Community Garden Operational Lead for United Way, leveraging the skills he honed during a co-op placement at the Niagara College Greenhouse. His involvement continued through a collaborative assignment, where students, in groups, devised a comprehensive crop plan for the garden beds, emphasizing intensive planting, sustainable practices, and crop diversity to cater to local food markets run by the United Way.
“In this garden, we carefully design space, considering the mutual benefits of different crops,” said Baulk. “For example, we use trellises for tall tomato plants, utilizing their shade to extend the growing season for heat-sensitive crops. These innovative practices help us provide high-quality food for our community.”
The impact of this initiative is already evident. In 2022, the garden yielded 1,179 pounds of produce, shared with a dozen community partners. Beyond this garden, United Way embarked on a two-acre farm project in Vineland with parallel objectives, aiming to increase food production, volunteer engagement, and community involvement to combat food insecurity in Niagara.
“I’m beyond thrilled to be able to use my skills to provide food for our community,” said Baulk. “Food insecurity is the root of many community health problems and being able to work to alleviate this in my own community gives a great sense of joy.”
As the United Way Garden Hub prepares for its Fall Open House, the deeper purpose of this initiative resonates–uniting the community, nourishing lives, and sowing the seeds for a sustainable future.
