Skidmore College
IN-7: Community Garden

Skidmore's first garden started in 2009 on the east side of campus and moved to its current location in 2015. The Skidmore Community Garden is nestled between Residence Halls, the Tang Teaching Museum and Case Center. The space includes an herb spiral, a permaculture bed, and is bordered on the west side with fruit trees. The garden supplies local food, grown using organic practices, to Skidmore's dining hall. It facilitates a connection to, and appreciation for, the food that we eat and offers hands-on learning opportunities for the Skidmore community. The garden provides an outlet for community members interested in environmental issues, social justice and economic development to learn about the local food movement and the ecology of food. The space is managed by one student garden manager each year, who plans the garden in the spring, grows and maintains it through the summer, and wraps up the season with our annual Harvest Dinner each fall.

Three classes come to the garden each year, including a soils class, environmental education class, and sociology of food class. Our dining services team regularly stops in for herbs or for a tour. Weekly work parties include up to 20 students. We often welcome RA's who bring their halls to work parties. We also host summer camps (ages 5-16) on campus who visit the garden to learn about the crops.