University garden a community effort

by Sabrina Hutchison, Waterloo Residences

Is there anything quite as satisfying as harvesting your own organic vegetables and creating a dish to showcase their freshness and wholesome flavour? We think not, and Mark Ousley definitely agrees with us. One of his many passions is doing just that – growing his own organic fruits and vegetables with his friends in the uWaterloo Community Garden.

If you haven’t heard of uWaterloo’s Community Garden, don’t worry – you are not the only one. It is one of the many wonderful secrets of the University community just waiting to be discovered and enjoyed by our students, faculty and staff. The garden plots are located a short 10-minute walk from the heart of campus, or a 5-minute jaunt from the university’s Columbia Lake Village residence community. You will find it tucked away by a greenhouse just off Westmount road, very close to Columbia Lake. Once there, you will most likely meet Mark, and the friends he has made at the garden, as they germinate seeds, plant fruits and vegetables (like the giant garlic pictured above), harvest their crops and meet for potlucks and the occasional guitar sing along.

Although some of the uWaterloo Community gardeners have been involved for over 15 years, Mark (right) is a relatively green member, if you will excuse the pun. Mark stumbled upon the garden when he was looking for a place to compost his organic waste. Being a resident of Columbia Lake Village-North, uWaterloo’s grad and family residence, Mark lives right across the street from the garden and can easily access their large compost bins and participate in the community. Although he has only been involved since the spring of 2011, his passion for this initiative is evident and he eagerly promotes the benefits of being involved in the garden.

According to Mark, there is always something going on within the community, and they are always looking for new members. In the fall and winter, the gardeners cultivate seeds and planning is done for the following spring. As soon as the weather permits, the planting starts and the garden needs lots of attention throughout the spring and summer months. The community is currently nurturing tomatoes, eggplants, peas, kale, giant garlic and gooseberries, just to name a few. Melons were attempted last year but apparently, our campus groundhogs claimed those as their own. Once the growing season is done, the harvesting and cleaning of the garden rounds out the year.

One of the great things about the garden is that it is supported financially by the Waterloo Public Interest Research Group (WPIRG) so there are no costs associated with being part of it – they even supply all of the tools required to do the planting and sowing of the crops. It’s also completely flexible – once you are on the member’s list, you can access the garden at any time, with or without the other members. Of course there are organized activities, but the level of involvement is completely optional. As Mark says, the garden is whatever you make of it.

Mark certainly makes the most of the uWaterloo Community Garden. For him it is a compost facility, a way to reduce his own waste and help the environment, a place to grow his own organic food and perhaps above all, a way to interact with the community and meet like-minded people from all over the world. If you would like to join Mark and his friends, feel free to contact him at mouseley @uwaterloo.ca. Start taking home the freshest food possible and enjoying the satisfaction, and deliciousness, of the garden endeavors right here in our own University community.

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Engineering grad's essay wins award

a news release from the Ontario Centre for Engineering and Public Policy

Engineering students Caleb Gingrich from the University of Waterloo and Julia Glinos from the University of Toronto were declared co-winners of the 2012 Student Essay Competition held by the Ontario Centre for Engineering and Public Policy (OCEPP).

Submissions had to focus on a subject matter broadly related to engineering and public policy and were judged on originality, quality of research and clarity. Caleb and Julia each received $500 for their winning essays and registration to OCEPP’s 2012 Public Policy conference, held in Toronto on May 11.

Caleb’s essay is titled “Industrial Symbiosis: Current understandings and needed ecology and economics influences.” He completed his undergraduate studies this spring in Waterloo’s systems design engineering program.

The title of Julia’s paper is “Patent the Method Not the Source: An Engineer’s Obligation to the Public Regarding Gene Patenting Policy.” In spring she completed her third year of study in the University of Toronto’s chemical engineering department.

Both papers can be viewed from the “For Students” page of the OCEPP website.

The annual contest, launched in 2009, is open to graduate and undergraduate students who are registered in an Ontario university engineering program. Details regarding the 2013 competition will be available in the fall.

OCEPP was founded by Professional Engineers Ontario in 2008 and it is the first institute of its kind in Canada. The centre is committed to encouraging Ontario’s more than 80,000 professional engineers and engineering interns to become more involved in public policy formation and review. The centre focuses on issues including engineering licensure and regulation, smart infrastructure, tomorrow’s energy solutions, water management and healthy communities.

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