51视频

06/09/2021
By Ed Brennen

In the countless hours that senior听peace and conflict studies听major Austin Thoren has spent studying in the O鈥橪eary Learning Commons mezzanine, he never gave much thought to the empty cement terrace just outside the room鈥檚 floor-to-ceiling windows.

鈥淭here was never anything going on out there, so I didn鈥檛 really pay attention to it,鈥� he says.

When students return to campus this fall, they鈥檒l discover quite a bit going on outside the windows: a new rooftop garden of flowers, herbs and vegetables brimming from 500 neatly arranged containers.

It鈥檚 the latest addition to UML鈥檚听Urban Agriculture Program, a collaboration between the university鈥檚听Office of Sustainability听and the Lowell-based urban farming nonprofit听.听

鈥淭his is a nice addition to South Campus. It鈥檚 great to see,鈥� says Director of Sustainability听Ruairi O鈥橫ahony, who was among a dozen staff members and volunteers from UML and Mill City Grows that set up and planted the garden on a sweltering Saturday in early June.

Mill City Grows, which already manages the听Rist Urban Agriculture Greenhouse听on East Campus and the听Green Roof garden听at University Crossing, will oversee the new garden at O鈥橪eary. Herbs and vegetables will be made available to the community through its popular Mobile Market.

Student employees from the Office of Sustainability 鈥� like Thoren 鈥� will help harvest and maintain the site, which O鈥橫ahony says could also be used as a hands-on learning space for students in fields such as听nutritional science听or听education.

鈥淚t helps increase food access for the community, greens the campus and serves as a living lab for students, so it鈥檚 just a win for everybody,鈥� he says.

Funded two years ago by a $45,000 grant from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, the project was delayed a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds were used for an engineering study to ensure the 2,300-square-foot rooftop could support the weight of the garden, and to purchase the intricate drip irrigation system and other supplies.

Mill City Grows Executive Director Jessica Wilson says the expanding partnership with UML bolsters the organization鈥檚 food justice mission.

鈥淲e鈥檙e able to do so much more for the community because of our partnership with 51视频,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e able to grow more food in the greenhouse, and because so many students have done service-learning projects or volunteered with us, it really helps raise awareness of the work we鈥檙e doing.鈥�

Besides herbs such as basil, cilantro, thyme, rosemary and lavender, the new rooftop garden includes flowers such as听echinacea, nasturtium and a 鈥渇eed the bees鈥� wildflower mix.听Because the rooftop should be less susceptible to pests and weeds, Mill City Grows Asst. Farm Manager Maddie Grant says they will also use the space to experiment with crops such as corn, flax, safflower, sorghum and adzuki beans.

Some of the crops won鈥檛 be harvested for food, but rather for their seeds. Ali Jacobs, director of programs for Mill City Grows, says that 鈥渟eed saving鈥� is an important way to grow rare or endangered crops 鈥� especially those that are popular with Lowell鈥檚 immigrant communities.

鈥淧eople will talk about food from their home that might not be widely available here, and maybe the seeds are expensive,鈥� she says, citing the Middle Eastern herb za鈥檃tar as an example. 鈥淚f we propagate our own populations of them, we can help indigenous and immigrant folks propagate their own seeds of their own plants. You help people reconnect with food.鈥�

O鈥橫ahony says produce from the garden could be used in the university鈥檚听Farm Share Program听once it鈥檚 back up and running, as well as at the nearby South Campus Dining Commons.

One of the students that helped install the garden was Huzaifa Emran, a second-year听energy engineering听graduate student from Pakistan who joined the Office of Sustainability as a student employee this summer. The garden project lines up with his interest in sustainable energy.

鈥淢y concentration is solar, and what we鈥檙e doing with the Office of Sustainability is basically conservation of the environment,鈥� Emran said as he fitted plastic tubing for the irrigation system. 鈥淚f you can contribute in the slightest degree, why not?鈥�

Agllaia Nikolla, a rising junior听biomedical engineering听major from Albania, volunteered to help plant the garden.

鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to seeing what this looks like when it鈥檚 done,鈥� she said while preparing irrigation tubes with Emran. 鈥淪tudents are having a very hard time mentally right now, so I think this will be a good place to come and relax.鈥�
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Thoren, a native of Methuen, Massachusetts, began working for the Office of Sustainability as a first-year student after volunteering with the听Move Out Program.听

鈥淚 love this job. I would do it another couple of years if I could,鈥� he said after shoveling compost from Casella Organics into 500 milk crates, which were hoisted to the rooftop a dozen at a time by an excavator.

Thoren, who plans to pursue an accelerated master鈥檚 degree in peace and conflict studies after completing his bachelor鈥檚 degree this summer, will have a much better view the next time he鈥檚 studying in the mezzanine at O鈥橪eary.

鈥淚鈥檝e been telling people about the garden for weeks. They鈥檙e like, 鈥楻eally? On top of O鈥橪eary?鈥欌�� he says. 鈥淚t looks awesome.鈥�