MISD Launches Organic Garden

Author: Chelsea Coffin

At sundown on Saturday evening, Middlebury College Organic Garden Group (MCOGG) and friends celebrated the groundbreaking of the College's new organic garden. The garden is the result of a year's worth of careful planning by the Middlebury Initiative for Sustainable Development (MISD) and several other interested community members.
The three-acre site of the organic garden is a 10- to 15-minute walk west from Bicentennial Hall. There are future plans for a path and wetlands footbridge that will make the site more accessible.
Currently, the field is seeded with winter rye. Future crops will include legumes, tomatoes, other greens and a perennial garden. The crops should do well on the field, a rich loam more fertile than the Vergennes clay soil that surrounds the knoll.
Present for the ceremony were several professors, Matt Biette, associate director of Dining Services, President McCardell, Churchill Franklin, chair of the Board of Trustees, townspeople, students, children, family members of students and even a couple of friendly dogs. Upon arriving at the site, the group gathered into a circle. To set the mood, Chris Howell '04.5 read a Pawnee Native American prayer: "Earth, Ourselves / Breathe and awaken, / Leaves are stirring, / All things moving, / New day coming, / Life renewing." The group then cleared rocks from the field and spread the winter rye seed. To close the ceremony, the group gathered in a circle for introductions, thoughts, another recitation of the Pawnee prayer and a speech by Bennett Konesni '04.5, highlighting the multi-purpose qualities of the organic garden.
The most obvious purpose of the garden is to provide organically grown food for the dining halls. In addition, the garden will bring the College and town community closer together in a healthy environment through group gardening and group dinners. The garden also serves two of the Peaks of Excellence, set forth by McCardell in 1995, by stressing the environmental aspect of the College and the real-life application of the liberal arts education.
After the ceremony, everyone was invited to feast on a dinner cooked at Weybridge House, and brought out to the site by Mikey Azzara '03 on bicycle. This organic dinner was a just a preview of the meals to come from the new garden.
Konesni challenged spectators to "come back in 10, 15 or 20 years to see the effects of this garden." Franklin reinforced this thought by calling the garden a "long-term vision."
There was a sense of excitement in the crowd as onlookers realized that the determination of a group of students had materialized into a garden. What began as a mere thought one year ago is now a plot of land ready and waiting for cultivation.