Food sustainability is a huge issue in our fight against the negative effects of climate change. Food production is responsible for most of our state’s water usage, while transporting produce from farms to grocery stores tends to lead to massive amounts carbon emissions. One of the most touted solutions to help mitigate this food sustainability problem is for households to grow as much produce as possible, for personal consumption.
But for many of us at Berkeley, the idea of growing our own food at the residence halls seems like a preposterous idea. After all, where in the units can one find enough space for soil, pots, seeds, water, and gardening supplies needed to grow just one plant?
That’s if you only consider Units 1 through 4. Indeed, at UC Berkeley’s very own Unit 5 (much, much more commonly known as Clark Kerr Campus), there exists a garden maintained by students that is dedicated to growing foodstuffs that go directly to CalDining – and right onto the dining hall menu. From blackberries to lettuce, there’s plenty of foods to be grown in the garden, and many more to come.
This semester, the Clark Kerr Gardening team is planning to expand their array of food by growing in new locations. And with these new plans comes new opportunities for students to participate in the cultivation of new foods. This semester, the Clark Kerr Garden needs more help than ever in order to realize its goal of expanding the amount of produce being grown. It has set weekly open hours at:
Tuesday from 11 am to 1 pm
Thursday from 10 am to 12 pm
This is time for anyone, Clark Kerr resident or not, to drop in and help out with cultivating new plants.
Additionally, the garden is offering monthly Saturday workshops to teach new and aspiring gardeners the basics of gardening. The first of these workshops is set for February 25th, 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm, so be sure to come out and support the Clark Kerr Garden, Cal Dining, and the environment!
by Beverly Pan