What We Do
Garden:
Lawrence students maintain a garden on a ¼ acre plot of land located at the bottom of Union Hill and Lawe Street. A wide range of produce is grown without the use of pesticides. Over 70 students volunteer in the garden per academic year and almost 1,000 hours were accumulated last spring term. The produce grown in the garden is sold to Lawrence’s new dining service, Bon Appetit, and used in the student cafeteria. These finances allow SLUG to pursue new projects and pay student workers to maintain the garden during the summer.
Compost:
SLUG composts food waste from the Warch Campus Center and small houses on campus, coffee grounds from local cafes Harmony and Brewed Awakenings, and brew mash from Appleton’s microbrewery, Stone Cellar. Numerous on-campus and off-campus community members also drop off their compost; feel free to do the same!
Orchard:
In Spring ‘10 SLUG received a grant to plant a fruit tree orchard in the open space behind Sage Hall. This fall 16 trees will be planted including numerous varieties of apples. The trees will be maintained without the aid of pesticides.
Education:
Numerous elementary, middle, and high school students have come on field trips to SLUG to learn about subjects like how plants are grown, the benefits of fresh food, and how to keep the soil healthy. Participating schools/groups include the Montessori School, the Academy Charter School, Edison Elementary and the Appleton YMCA Project Youth Team. If you’d like to organize a trip to SLUG, e-mail us at garden@lawrence.edu.
SLUG has also started holding workshops open to the Lawrence, Appleton, and Fox Valley Community. Topics include making and maintaining an at home composting system, making lasagna garden beds, and hoop house construction. For upcoming opportunities, keep checking the events page.
To keep gaining knowledge about agriculture and it's related-topics, SLUG members have opportunities to attend events like the MOSES Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse, the WI Local Food Summit in Eau Claire, UW-Extension Master Composting classes, and UW-Extension Fruit Tree Growing seminars.
In the Community:
Though SLUGgers have a lot to do on-campus, we also try to get out into the communities surrounding Lawrence. Members have had booths at Elementary School Science Expos, presented on the garden at the 2010 WI Local Food Summit, and volunteered at Growing Power in Milwaukee and the Badger School for Urban Agriculture and Community in Madison.
• Sustainable
Lawrence University Gardens •
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