Community partnerships were in full bloom on September 27 during a fall open house at the United Way Niagara Garden Hub.
The United Way Niagara hosted the event at the garden hub site, located at the Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake (near the NCBC). The event celebrated the success of the garden hub – a collaborative effort between Niagara College and United Way Niagara, which aims to strengthen food security in the region. NC’s School of Environment and Horticulture played a key role in creating the garden hub which involved many hands from the Horticultural Technician program
“The partnership between Niagara College and the United Way allowed me to get my foot in the door with the United Way,” said Luke Baulk Community Garden Operational Lead for United Way Niagara (NC Horticulture Technician, 2023).
“It’s amazing to see all the networks that exist around our garden hub.”
Baulk spoke at the event and called up Evan DiValentino, Senior Director, Academic Transformation Initiatives, to speak about how the garden cultivated applied learning experiences for students.
“Our work with United Way of Niagara offers students real-world learning while enriching our community. Together, we’ve created a community garden, transforming it into a vibrant space of growth and learning,” said DiValentino.
“For our students, it’s an invaluable lesson in community, collaboration, and making a difference.
“It really is a win-win, especially when partnerships like this lead to graduate employment, as it has for Luke Baulk Luke was hired by UWN after working on the community garden through a second-year course this past spring.”
The fall open house featured a pop-up produce market offering produce grown at the garden hub, tours, an information booth from NC Sustainability, and a fall mum sale from the NC Teaching Greenhouse which supported the United Way Niagara.
Sustainability program and outreach coordinator Katie Bristow offers information and a variety of seeds at the fall open house.
