Category: CofC Agriculture

SISE 2014: What I learned

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In April of 2014 my project advisor at the Office of Sustainability, Ashlyn Hochschild, emailed out several different opportunities to get more involved in the sustainability realm. One of the things listed in the email was the Summer Institute on Sustainability and Energy (SISE) at the University of Illinois at Chicago, a two week intensive for undergraduate seniors, graduate students, and sustainability professionals focusing on renewable energy and the sustainability of those energy practices. Not having anything to lose, I decided to apply.  Fast-forward four months and a very intense application process later I was boarding a 6am flight to Chicago.

SISE provides a unique learning opportunity for the 50-60 people selected to participate every year by combining interesting lectures, unique research projects, and amazing field trips. The lectures we attended were given by some of the top energy and sustainability professionals in the Chicago area with topics that ranged from sustainable airports to batteries to the importance of business and entrepreneurship in the field. Not only did these top professionals lecture us, but also they acted as mentors for the duration of the program.

For the group research project we were given a problem to research and solve in our assigned groups over two weeks relating to the theme of Urban Energy. We were mentored, presented, wrote business plans and what resulted was twelve groups with twelve great ideas. This project gave everyone an opportunity to explore an unfamiliar topic and to gain the experience of accomplishing a large task in a short amount of time while also building our professionalism skills.

The last main learning component of the program is the field trips. We visited a total of three sites in Chicago during our two-week stay: Illinois Institute of Technology, O’Hare international Airport, and Argonne National Laboratory. Each site showed us what sustainability looks like in the real world, specifically the energy field. Between learning about the smart grid technology already available at IIT, the goats and sheep kept at O’Hare, and seeing the Advanced Photon Source and Transportation Labs at Argonne, the participants gained a true understanding of how the world is beginning to make a change towards a more sustainable future.

I knew when I accepted my invitation to attend the fourth annual SISE I would be exposed to new ideas and learn so much from the lectures and field trips, but I would have never expected that I would learn the most from the other participants. Living with 60 strangers for two weeks seems like it could end in disaster, however working, learning and living with everyone 24 hours a day gave me a better understanding of the world and sustainability. When we weren’t in lectures or on trips everyone would go explore the wonderful city we were in. Somewhere between waiting 90 minutes to try Chicago’s famous pizza, stuffing too many people in a sketchy cab, arriving to the park to hear live music about a minute before it ends, finding a random band playing swing music on the sidewalk and dancing with new friends, watching fireworks off Navy Pier, staying up until 6am in the dorm singing in 15 different languages and dancing, having cook-outs, taking too many selfies, seeing the Air & Water Show, playing Cards Against Humanity and Hanabi, and just having wonderful conversations with people, the participants of SISE 2014 became a family.  The feeling I had at

SISE is one I hope everyone can experience at some point in their life. Being in the realm of environmental studies and sustainability comes with a lot of negativity but being surrounded by people who have the same goal of bettering the world, I have never felt more hopeful about the outlook of our existence on this planet.

One the first day of SISE, I walked into aconversation between participants on the physics of the organic chemistry of some type of renewable energy and I thought I was accepted by mistake. That conversation was my first exposure of many to the great minds of chemistry, physics, mathematics, economics, policy, business, geography, architecture, and so much more that made up the participants of SISE 2014 who taught me so much about the world and myself. Three weeks after SISE ended, I still miss the family I gained there, but I know that in our respective areas of the world we will still be working together to make a difference. – Virginia Whorley, Sustainability Intern

Dixie Plantation and Will Allen

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Dixie Plantation provides students with the opportunity to experiment with organic farming techniques.

This past Saturday I joined the Office of Sustainability on a tour and workday at the Dixie Plantation student garden. This wasn’t my first trip to Dixie Plantation, but the remarkable beauty of the plantation never fails to surprise me. If you have never been to the plantation, I would highly recommend a visit. Our tour guides, Carmen and Nolan, allowed us to get our hands dirty in the garden while also providing a great overview of the various sustainable agriculture efforts at the student garden. Projects in the garden ranged from commonplace herb gardens to the bizarre, such as vermiculture (earthworm culture) and apiculture (bee-keeping)

The most exciting part of Dixie Plantation and the garden is the potential for the future. The garden has already expanded from its original size to include experimental land plots for independent student projects, and it is very possible that this growth could continue. Potential projects such as an aquaponics system (which harnesses a natural symbiosis between fish and plants for food production) as well as a black fly larvae composting system may also be implemented at Dixie plantation. Dixie plantation is also home to many other fledgling program such as student research stations, forest management programs, nature trails, and fundraising to name a few. A major question for the future of the College of Charleston is how Dixie Plantation will be utilized.

These exciting agricultural projects at the Dixie garden echo the work of the internationally recognized urban farmer—and former professional basketball player—Will Allen. In Allen’s recent visit to the College of Charleston, he gave the audience at the Sottile Theater a walkthrough of his work in urban farming and how sustainable food production improves the health of disadvantaged communities. This improved health includes both physical and societal health, resulting from education and exposure to sustainable agriculture as well as an increased sense of community. In the words of Will Allen, “We cannot have healthy communities without a healthy food system.” This same principal holds true in Charleston and is addressed in part by some community gardens and organizations that are already in place, such as the Greenheart project and the Chicora Place Community Garden.

Although the College of Charleston is not the same as the disadvantaged communities that Will Allen normally works with, the College could also benefit from expanding its sustainable agriculture efforts. Although there are many competing interests at Dixie Plantation, as a student, I believe some priority should be given to expanding the current sustainable agriculture efforts to a scale that could provide a reasonable amount of food for the college itself in a sustainable way. In a program such as this, not only could students, faculty and staff enjoy the benefit of healthy food, they could also learn about sustainable agriculture and use the program for outreach programs in much the same way Will Allen has done with his organization Growing Power. Although a project like this at Dixie Plantation would be far down the line, it is exciting for me to think of what the College of Charleston and Dixie could become.

-John Brooker

In the Garden with Lexa Keane

Spicy Flowers and Bean Sprouts

I think I’m in love.  Our relationship is so fresh and new, I can’t help but get excited thinking about Friday afternoons, and all the other random chances I get to spend time with them.

‘Them’ you ask?? Yes, all the little vegetable and fruit sprouts within the political science urban garden that are pushing so eagerly to meet the sun’s rays.  I find myself retreating to the garden any chance I get, making sure they are watered and nourished.  I’m borderline ‘helicopter mom,’ but their youth calls for extra reassurance and devotion!

One of the many great things about the garden is the constant interaction of people and the natural world, as the garden is a centerpiece in which people gather and exchange stories, thoughts, and a sense of community.  The garden demonstrates not only the physical potential of yielding produce for the local community, but the potential within each of us to flourish and help each other grow as individuals and as a community.  If you think I am romanticizing this garden experience, you might very well be correct in your assumption, but I would argue that this newly cultivated plot of land is something worth celebrating.

Yesterday, after a hectic day and a long week, I retreated to the garden to harvest some lettuce, spinach and basil for a tasty salad to share with a good friend of mine.  After plunking my heavy book bag down, I assessed the growing sprouts, and watered them while talking with some faculty members.  The conversations extended past the garden, and into realms of personal interest and funny stories of the week.  The garden is a platform for uplifting experiences, whether gathered around the actual garden, or sharing the vegetable goodness for dinner with a near and dear friend.

 

 

Post from Ashlyn Spilis

Who doesn’t love food?  Food is a subject very near and dear to my heart (as it is for a lot of people) so I was honored to help the Office of Sustainability host an event featuring the farmers of the Charleston area.  Held on George Street, we were lucky enough to have the beautiful springtime weather the city of Charleston is famous for.  The event featured Ambrose, Pinckney (Our Local Foods), Lowland, Joseph Fields and Rosebank farms, as well as the amazing nonprofits Lowcountry Local First and Grow Food Carolina.  One of the most recognizable farmers in Charleston–who also graces the LLF shirts–Sidi of Rosebank farm was also able to take time to make an appearance at the event!

The main goal of this fair was simply just to educate about food sourcing in Charleston by introducing students to the people who grow their food.  Strengthening this relationship between the consumer and the provider is an important first step to increasing the economic sustainability of the city.  As a first time CSA member, I personally was so excited to meet the people responsible for my weekly share.  An overwhelming majority of the people I spoke with had never even heard about the community sponsored agriculture program and what these memberships can provide to the consumer, presenting the need for such events to be held in the future.  Jennifer Moore, who attended the fair with her husband (a computer science major), stated the fair “really exposed students to the advantages of buying local produce.  Each farm had information about their commitment, share sizes, and products available.  Overall the fair was very informative and helped support buying local.”

This event was a success for the College of Charleston.  First, we were able to provide information to people about the importance of sourcing food and supporting local growers.  Additionally, the farmers also spoke to how successful the event was for them, being able to meet members of the community and the College.  Finally, we received so much positive feedback about continuing to host Farm Fairs in the future!  I am so glad the Office of Sustainability was able to host such an important event as a part of the College of Charleston’s very first Sustainability Week.

Post from Prentice Brower

This project has been exciting. We have done a lot. We have thought of creative ideas and plans for our roof top garden. However our project will not come to life as of now. This is because of the challenges we have faced in trying to realize a rooftop garden. Or initial challenge was gaining access to the first site on top of Liberty.  We had plans ready but we were never able to make it up a second time. Another big challenge we faced was the time. Designing, building, and organizing a rooftop garden is a lot to do with a short amount of time, especially once we lost our first sight of Liberty.  If we had time to continue, I’m confident that we would be able to design and build a great project. Our third challenge was not getting funded. This of course was a result of the short amount of time we had to design a new garden after we had to change locations.

We have learned a lot from this project. There are challenges, but of course there are ways around and past these challenges. I’m confident that if we were to have more time, we could develop a very useful and successful rooftop garden.

Post from Katie Thomason

Our urban agriculture group has come across a few problems.  We originally planned to builld a vertical garden on the roof of Liberty residence hall.  We had a few issues, however, with gaining access to this location.  We then were fortunate to gain a new location- the roof of the MES office on King St.  We redesigned our structure to be a 8 x 2ft box where we would plant things like thyme, collards, fava beans, and beets.  This project was meant to be an experiment to see what worked and what didn’t so we could expand/improve it in the future.  Once we decided on this new plan we sent in a proposal to try to gain funding and planned to build this week.  We recently encountered another problem, however: we did not gain funding.  We are in a very tight time crunch and will gather today to figure out our next steps from here, hoping for the best.

Post from Jenny Bamond

Christina, Katy, and I recently took a trip out to The Sustainable Warehouse to price materials and budget for our rooftop garden. The trip was definitely worthwhile. We not only found many materials we could use for our project, but also learned about what is being done in the community to help make building practices more sustainable. Director of The Sustainable Warehouse, Rebecca, and her team deconstruct old buildings, salvaging materials that can be reused for other projects. Their goal is to relieve the burdens on the landfills. The Sustainable Warehouse is where anybody from a contractor to a student like us can go and “upcycle” materials instead of using additional natural resources for new materials.

Rebecca was very helpful in finding materials to use for our rooftop garden. She has a lot of “garden-grade” wood available that she recommended we use for our raised beds. Right now, this same wood is being upcycled and used in the Chicora Community Garden in North Charleston.  We also found several old shelves that might be useful in creating vertical gardens on rooftops such as Liberty Residence Hall. Although not realistic for this particular pilot project, I think something similar to these old shelves would be useful to College of Charleston urban agriculture initiatives in the future. They are built very similar to the vertical wall panels commonly found online, but are by nature much more conducive to our mission of sustainability.