Idea for community garden grows into reality
Last year, the Vanderbilt Initiative for Vegetarian Awareness (VIVA) had the idea to create a Vanderbilt Community Garden to grow crops for Vanderbilt students in organic and sustainable ways. This month, the garden became a reality with the first planting. The garden is located in the Vanderbilt Medical parking lot by Natchez Trace.
“VIVA created the garden, along with generous support from Students Promoting Environmental Awareness and Responsibility (SPEAR), and the Office of the Dean of Students, to educate the Vanderbilt and Nashville community on sustainable food sources, local environmental initiatives and healthy food options,” said VIVA member, VU student and “Garden Czar” Bruce Spencer. “We have all the tools and seeds necessary so all our volunteers need are a good attitude and clothes to get dirty in.”
All community gardeners will have access to the ripe vegetables, but in the true spirit of a community garden, extra crops will be donated to the Nashville Mobile Market. The Nashville Mobile Market provides fresh fruits and vegetables in food deserts throughout urban Nashville using a mobile grocery store route. Stemming from research at the School of Medicine and Owen Graduate School of Management, researchers are continuing to evaluate the long-term impact on community eating patterns and health conditions.
For more information, visit the Vanderbilt Garden Initiative on Facebook, or contact Bruce Spencer.