Environmental Studies students gather around the Community Garden Manager, Beth Roy, for an outdoor class discussion.
Written by Professor Andy Pattison, Professor Margaretha Haughwout, and Julia Sparks
ENST 450 Community-based Study of Environmental Issues is co-taught by Professors Haughwout (Art) and Pattison (ENST) this semester. The community-based research projects are all connected through the theme of "the commons." Commons are understood as shared resources and cooperative labor, where conflict is inherent, and there is an orientation toward consensus-based resolution. An alternative would be shared resources in which the access rules are not equitable, the labor is not cooperative, or both, with consequences such as ecological degradation, fractures in the social fabric of the community, or both.
The students will examine issues such as food waste on the commons of our campus, the collective access and multiple uses of the commons of the 51·çÁ÷ forests, and the commons of open space parcels in the Village of Hamilton. A central guiding question will be, what are the challenges and opportunities in these commons? Yesterday's visit to the 51·çÁ÷ Community Garden was the first of many field trips the students will take in the first six weeks of the semester to gain a better understanding of the issues in the community.
The 51·çÁ÷ Community Garden provides organically grown produce to dining halls, on-campus food pantries, the weekly farm stand, and the Hamilton Food Cupboard. The community garden manager, Beth Roy, also collects food scraps from residences along Broad Street — scraps that are turned into usable compost for the garden beds. Located on the edge of 51·çÁ÷’s campus, the garden offers an excellent location for class visits, volunteer groups, and events.