November 30, 2011
The north end of the Highland Parking Garage at the University of Arizona may look like a plot of vacant land right now, but plans for the facility call for greenery, both edible and not.
Photo: Robert Rappaport
The UA Community Garden is on the north side of Highland Parking Garage, at Mabel Street.
“It’s about 16,000 square foot, in terms of the plot. Within that piece of land, you’re looking at a number of 20-by-3-foot sunken beds filled with compost and soil, ready to be planted,” says Chester “Chet” Phillips, a graduate assistant in the UA Department of Arid Lands and Resource Sciences. Phillips also advises the students helping with the community garden.
Photo: Robert Rappaport
Chester "Chet" Phillips, is a graduate assistant/adviser at UA Community Garden.
Aside from the planting and maintenance, the plots will be somewhat self-sufficient.
“We have an irrigation system and it’ll all be drip-taped going to each bed,” says Phillips. “An individual bed tender will not have to do all of the watering.”
The startup cost of the garden was about $16,000 for excavation, irrigation and a shed on the property, says Phillips. That money came from a grant from the UA’s “Green Fund,” he says.
Plots should be available for rent in either January and February for members of the UA community and nearby neighborhoods. The exact amount of the rent has not been determined yet.
This is just wonderful for the UA community. Many people would like to have a garden but their current living situation does not permit having one. This will also allow parents the opportunity to show or demonstrate to their children where their food comes from. This is so important if we want to teach healthy eating habits as part of a healthy lifestyle.
U of A had/has a community garden/outdoor meeting space at the Environmental Research Lab on the Tucson International Airport property. It was quite the draw back in the late 80s, where weddings and concerts took place, and a large group of environmentally minded individuals tried techniques that would now be labeled sustainable, such as irrigating with nutrient rich water from a fish pond. It has been forgotten by many except those take their lunch break there, but I visit when I have to pick up or drop off someone at the airport. From a full time staff of five, it now has a single student tending the garden and a couple of overextended facilities employees trying to keep up with bare minimum maintenance in the meeting area. I spoke to the student about the neglect and he admitted he didn't know the entire story of what was once called the Oasis, but he knew there was no money to care for it. When I asked how he was getting his supplies now, he said he was paying for them out his own pocket. Then he said he felt he needed to honor the history and work of those who created the Oasis,that he had to keep people from forgetting what happened there. These were people trying to be sustainable before they had the word for it. He says he has been trying to get attention to the Oasis to bring it back to life; but to no avail and he continues to be a one person effort. He fears when he graduates and has to leave, that the garden will finally disappear under the weeds from which he liberated it. I wish much success for this latest iteration of a university community garden and hope it can draw some lessons from attempts that preceded it.
Way to go!
I'm excited and looking forward to renting a plot.
There are so many veggies I can start to grow!
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I'm so impressed with the idea that gardening space will be available to both the campus community and the surrounding community. What a positive mission for the university and the students who make it possible.