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July 21, 2004 This letter is to express our support of Macalester College’s community garden, known as the MULCH garden. As plans and blueprints to remodel the athletic facilities get underway, we are concerned about the future of this community space. While we have been heartened thus far with support from numerous individuals, we would like to hereby formally express our belief in the importance of the MULCH garden to the Macalester College campus and community. Furthermore, we would like to encourage the possibility that renovations could lead to a larger and more developed community garden. We are aware that the current garden will be lost once remodeling is complete; however, we see this not necessarily as a loss, but an opportunity for growth and change. Since the approximately eight years since its inception, the MULCH garden has undergone many changes and passed through stages ranging from disorder to a truly beautiful space. For the past three years, however, the garden has consistently grown, and is now more than double the size it was in 2002. Due to support from Campus Programs and the Dean of Students, a summer garden coordinator has tended the garden for the past three years, and this year, two students are responsible for the increasingly large task. Extra produce is being sold to Café Mac, and workdays held seven days a week often attract up to ten people, including diverse groups of not merely students, but also alumni, community members, and faculty and staff. These institutional commitments to the garden have resulted in many improvements to the size and scope of the garden, and we believe these developments should not be lost, but rather further expanded upon with renovation. This year, MULCH is growing over 80 varieties of plants selected by a spring planning committee that worked throughout the spring semester to organize the garden. We truly believe that a community garden is an invaluable asset to the Macalester community. It is not only a place to learn to grow vegetables, or even to explore one’s links to the environment and to physically work and contribute to Macalester’s campus. It is a place where civic engagement comes to life in unique and exciting ways. For instance, there are neighborhood families who have been taking their children by the MULCH garden for years, who often stop to visit and harvest with student volunteers. The garden has served as a springboard to discuss sustainability issues, community health issues, and urban concerns. Lastly, it has always brought people together from diverse backgrounds and brought them together around a common space that can be creatively shared by all individuals. MULCH’s 2004 Dean of Students award for Community Service is in part a reflection of the hard work of its members, but it is just as a much a reflection of the fact that community gardens naturally promote healthy communities and civic responsibility, and that the MULCH garden has affected the lives of many individuals related to Macalester. We believe that a community garden brings people together in ways that no other space can, and that Macalester has greatly benefited from the MULCH garden and the support the administration has provided up until this point. Simply put, though this resource will be transformed, we ardently do not wish to see it lost or lessened in any way. We believe that renovations are an ideal time to recognize the significance of the community garden. Finally, we realize that landscaping concerns are generally considered toward the end of any renovations project. However, we are concerned that if thoughts about the community garden are left to the end of the process, the resulting space will be compromised and left short of its potential. In summary, we urge all relevant individuals to consider Macalester’s community garden as an integral part of the college’s campus when envisioning future building renovation and design. Sincerely, |
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