Last week, the Union College Justice Council unloaded lumber onto the empty lot on College Street, across from Ramsey Circle, got out their power tools, and assembled the first raised beds for the community garden they’ve been dreaming of for over a year.

(PHOTO: Malik McCalpine and Maggie Heinrich assemble a garden bed.)

“I’m looking forward to seeing how the garden comes together,” says freshman Isabelle “Izzy” Proctor. 

Proctor is one of eight student members of the Council, called “Justice Leaders.” She and junior Teyha Laws have been in charge of organizing the garden project, along with Assistant Professor of Biology Libby Megna. Goals for the project include improving access to nutritious food, raising awareness of food justice issues, and strengthening “town & gown” connections.

The Justice Council focuses on issues related to social equality and first formed in the fall of 2022. When they began meeting, they discussed projects they wanted to work on and brainstormed ways to engage with the campus and local community. During those conversations, Megna proposed the idea of launching a community garden, and it resonated with the rest of the Council.

According to the nonprofit Feeding America, 20.5% of all people in Knox County are food insecure, meaning they do not have consistent access to enough food. Over 1,500 of these individuals are children. Unemployment, lack of transportation, and discriminatory policies that affect household income and wealth can all contribute to food insecurity.

(PHOTO: Libby Megna saws the lumber to size.)

“One community garden will not bring that number down to zero, but we can highlight this reality, and we can help where we can,” says the Rev. David Miller, Union College Minister and Executive Director of Spiritual Life & Social Justice Initiatives.

Over the last year, the Council researched the project, created the budget, secured funding from the Student Government Association, and got permission from Union President Dr. Marcia Hawkins to use the empty lot on College Street as the new garden site.

“We worked on it slowly but surely,” says Miller.

(PHOTO: Tehya Laws and Gabriel Icobescu assemble a garden bed.)

The Council has built five 4’ x 8’ garden beds so far, and there is room for more to be added. Next steps will include laying down newspaper and cardboard to suppress weeds, adding compostable material such as dry leaves, and then adding topsoil. 

Plans for involving the local community are still in development, but the group is excited by the possibilities. They envision offering garden space to people who don’t have a yard of their own and hope to get local schools and scout troops involved, too.

“It’s a project designed to give the community and Union a way to connect to the environment on their own terms with as much or as little responsibility as they want,” says Laws.