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July 30, 2007

UCSC celebrates 40 years of sustainable farming and gardening

By Jennifer McNulty (831) 459-2495; jmcnulty@ucsc.edu

Hundreds of people celebrated the campus's pioneering role in organic farming and sustainable agriculture during an event-packed weekend July 27-29.

The celebration kicked off with a garden reception at University House on Friday afternoon, followed by a daylong symposium and Farm dinner under a nearly full moon on Saturday, and networking sessions on Sunday.

Nearly 500 people attended the dinner, including many graduates of the Apprenticeship in Ecological Horticulture, the roots of which were planted 40 years ago on a slope below Merrill College. The creation in 1967 of what is now the Alan Chadwick Garden opened the door to today's array of sustainable agriculture-related research, educational, and public service activities offered by UCSC, which is widely considered the "birthplace of organic farming."

In comments during Friday's reception, Acting Chancellor George Blumenthal acknowledged how widely organic farming has been embraced since those early days. "When Safeway and Wal-Mart get involved, you know something's up," he said.

In 1967, English master gardener Alan Chadwick was recruited by the campus to build a student garden. He and a handful of hardworking undergraduates transformed that steep, brush-covered slope into a lush garden cultivated without chemical fertilizers or pesticides.

More than 1,200 apprentices have since graduated from the apprenticeship, an outgrowth of the original student garden project. "Like seeds cast onto fertile soils, the graduates have spread the message and their skills in sustainable agriculture around the world," Blumenthal said of the graduates, many of whom work in farming, gardening, education, and nonprofit endeavors.

The anniversary also showcased the UCSC Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS). During the Friday reception, Social Sciences Dean Sheldon Kamieniecki read from a proclamation authored by state Assemblyman John Laird and approved by the California Assembly that heralded the campus's leadership in sustainable agriculture. He also introduced Patricia Allen, the new director of CASFS, who acknowledged the role of environmental studies professor Carol Shennan in advancing the development of the Center during her 10 years as director.

Also at the reception, Chadwick Garden Manager Orin Martin shared a moving personal history of the garden, acknowledging the key roles played by many former UCSC faculty, staff, students, and members of the Friends of the Farm & Garden, including Dean McHenry, Page Smith, Donald Nichols, Hal Hyde, Phyllis Norris, Louise Cain, Paul Lee, Steve Kaffka, and Jim Nelson. The weekend also marked Martin's 30th year with the garden, and he received an enthusiastic ovation from the crowd, which included families with young children, former and current apprentices, staff and faculty affiliates of CASFS, and friends.

The reception also kicked off a major fundraising effort for apprenticeship housing. Spearheaded by apprenticeship graduate and Friends' member Olivia Boyce-Abel, the effort has already raised more than $80,000, thanks in large part to donations from Boyce-Abel and apprenticeship graduate Meg Cadoux Hershberg.

Saturday's symposium featured sessions on cutting-edge research and education, farms as agents of social change, innovative programs and businesses, and other topics. That evening, as a nearly full moon rose over the Farm, 500 people enjoyed a sit-down dinner of pasta, salmon, risotto, salad, and fruit cobbler. Nearly 200 gathered again Sunday for breakfast and networking sessions, followed by lunch and farewells.

The festivities were made possible by the generous support of New Leaf Community Markets; Veritable Vegetable; Stonyfield Farm; the Friends of the UCSC Farm & Garden; Driscoll's; Boyce-Abel Associates & Family Land Consulting; the Clif Bar Family Foundation; the UCSC Food Systems Working Group; Heath and Lejeune; and ChromaGraphics.

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