Overall Rating Platinum
Overall Score 88.80
Liaison Richard Demerjian
Submission Date Aug. 11, 2021

STARS v2.2

University of California, Irvine
IN-7: Community Garden

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 0.50 / 0.50 Rachel Harvey
Sustainability Coordinator
Housing
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

A brief description of the institution’s community garden:

The UC Irvine Garden Project is creating a vibrant, coordinated garden community at UC Irvine. The project is harnessing four UC Irvine-based (institution-owned land) community gardens as a laboratory for hands-on sustainability education, student professional development, community engagement, and research on creating sustainable communities. Undergraduate and graduate students are involved in the design, implementation, maintenance and programming of urban gardens alongside faculty, staff, and community members.

Ants In Your Plants Garden:

“Ants in your Plants Garden” also known as “Arroyo Vista (AV) Garden” is maintained by undergraduate students from the Sustainability Resource Center and ASUCI’s Garden Commission. The garden has a greenhouse, orchard, and over 40 plots. The primary goal of the garden is to provide UCI students an opportunity to learn about food systems through volunteering and workshops. In addition to educational and recreational uses, the garden is used to grow fresh, local, and organic produce to be donated to the FRESH Basic Needs Hub on campus. Students manage a Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/187592362773/

Anthill Village Community Garden:

The Anthill Village Community Garden was originally established in 1985. The current garden site is located along Anteater Drive between Palo Verde Road and California Avenue on the UC Irvine campus. Gardeners include UC Irvine students, faculty, staff, and members from the surrounding community. There are 99 garden plots measuring 12 by 16 feet. Currently, more than 100 people are on the waiting list for a plot.

Palo Verde Organic Garden:

Palo Verde Organic Garden is a community garden that is open to and run by the residents of the Palo Verde graduate and family housing complex. The garden is all organic—so no commercial pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or herbicides are permitted. Garden members each maintain their own plot, often with the help of a roommate, spouse, and even children. There are a total of about 30 plots of varying shapes and sizes.

Verano Place Community Garden:

The Verano Place Community Garden is open to and run by the residents of the Verano Place graduate and family housing complex. The Verano Garden is an organic garden that provides an opportunity for Verano Place residents to garden in a communal setting. It is a place to work the earth alongside fellow residents you might not otherwise meet, and to share gardening knowledge. It is also an opportunity to increase sustainability by growing food locally, and recycle garden green waste and community kitchen waste.


Website URL where information about the community garden is available:
Estimated number of individuals that use the institution’s community garden annually:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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