Digging and tilling at the Hortus botanicus: SEA Community Garden officially opened
Eight university vegetable patches will soon join the display at the Hortus botanicus. The sun shone down on almost 40 enthusiastic students and staff as they started work on the new Community Garden there earlier this month.
The new Community Garden is a sustainable initiative by the Student and Educational Affairs (SEA) expertise centre. Leiden University wants to create a green, healthy and inclusive campus with a positive impact on the climate and circularity. At the end of last year, a call went out to green-fingered students and staff to help start and tend vegetable patches at the Hortus botanicus. They responded in spades.
The official ‘dig off’ of the project was on 7 March as SEA sustainability coordinator Mark Siezenga dug the first soil. ‘It’s great to see so many enthusiastic people working in the Community Garden’, he said. ‘Students and staff are working together on this alongside their work and studies, and I can’t wait to see the results. And I wonder how this will affect their sustainability awareness. But the main thing I’m looking forward to is the produce of these eight vegetable patches.’
Parsnips and kale
The participants were given a masterclass by the head of horticulture Rogier van Vugt in the tropical greenhouse at the Hortus. He explained the best way to grow and harvest your crops. Everyone was duly prepared for the next step: getting started and tilling their own vegetable patches.
Eight groups of students and staff will spend the coming months working on a patch. All the plants and seeds were provided by the Hortus and include kale, tomatoes and parsnips. The participants will tend their patches until October and harvest their own crops. There is also a fun challenge: who can grow the biggest onion?
Curious about the developments and the results? Contact SEA sustainability coordinator Mark Siezenga or come to the Hortus to see the Community Garden for yourself.
About the SEA Community Garden
The Community Garden is a sustainability initiative by the SEA expertise centre. At the heart of Leiden University’s vision on sustainability is creating a sustainable study and work environment that mobilises and inspires people to make a positive impact on society. There is also a desire for closer student-staff interaction, and the university is committed to vitality and sustainability awareness. All these goals come together in the Community Garden at Hortus botanicus Leiden.