Dalhousie administration kills student garden

Zach Armitage, Gwendolyn Muir, Kaleigh  McGregor-Bales, Orion Kereszesi, Sonia Grant

An unconventional and edible green space that started at Dalhousie University this summer has been abruptly shuttered by the administration.

The Edible Campus was a student initiative that sought to change the way people think about food. After spending months planning and implementing the garden, students are enraged that the administration backed out of their agreement to let the project expand and create an an edible landscape next to Killam library.

In a meeting with members of the Dalhousie Senior administration, Campus Action on Food (CAF) was informed that the goal of having the Killam space has been denied by the Senior administrators. CAF members were also told that all further gardening activity on campus — including the Seemore Green Collective Garden — were to be subsequently located in the same space: a hidden lot behind the computer science building.

To mourn the death of their food gardens, student members of CAF held a funeral on Monday, Nov. 22 at 12:30 p.m..

Students faced months of obstacles imposed by the administration to get the garden space approved, from long bureaucratic delays, to obtaining $5 million in insurance just to eat the garden’s vegetables. After a short but successful season of growing, educational initiatives, and delicious local meals, the administration has pulled the plug.

This summer, the Dalhousie administration approved the project on the condition that it be placed out of sight, with the understanding that the garden could blossom into a new, visible space the following year. Unfortunately, despite our groups’ success, it has become evident that the university will not allow the expansion of the project, or even its continuation in the current space the garden occupies off LeMarchant St., next to the Student Union Building.

As students who are a part of this university, we question why we (and students generally) are not given more input in the use of spaces on campus, spaces which we as students use most — especially given the severe lack of green space and abundance of underused concrete spaces here at Dalhousie.

“Considering that Dalhousie claims to be a leader in sustainability, and claims to foster student’s imaginations and passions, this is a real shock,” said CAF member Orion Kereszesi.

This project brought together students and community members to learn and build awareness of the environmentally and socially damaging modes of large-scale industrial production and consumption cycles, and taught hands-on practical ways of providing healthy, affordable, and sustainable food options.

“It was a positive and successful space, and we operated independently from the administration,”  Kereszesi said. “The university did not need to invest staff or time into the operation, so I fail to see any reason for them to crush this innovative and exciting student project.”

Armitage, Muir and colleagues are members of Campus Action on Food.