Muhlenberg College
IN-4: Innovation 4

Muhlenberg College students, faculty and staff have designed, installed and maintain an innovative permaculture and rare native plant garden consisting of numerous native plants that are edible, medicinal, or can be used for dyes as well as many plants that are on the endangered species list for the state of Pennsylvania. The Permaculture and Rare Native Plant Garden is unique in that they house multiple native Pennsylvania plants that are typically overlooked in landscaping design. In the permaculture garden, many of the plants have parts that can be used to make dyes or medicinal teas as well as also housing many edible perennials including the Paw Paw tree and the asparagus. Many of the plants in the Permaculture garden were donated by various nurseries or provided by a generous grant from the Landscapes of Communities and Wildlife Program out of the Lehigh Gap Nature Center. Our Rare Native Plant Garden was also funded by a grant from the Lehigh Gap Nature Center and is part of a regional network of rare native plant gardens striving to provide protected locations for native plants from Pennsylvania’s endangered species list. Native plants are adapted to our climate and soil conditions and as such they use less water and fertilizing. Overtime, they should require less maintenance in general than comparable garden of non-native plants. In addition to reduced maintenance, native plants interact with the local ecosystem by providing food and habitat for insects and birds that would not be available from non-native plants. These gardens serve as an opportunity for students to participate in a living laboratory and apply sustainability and ecology concepts they have learned in class to a working garden. The planting have occurred in stages including over the last five years. The institution has not previously received a STARS innovation credit for this specific program.