Have you ever eaten a delicious meal and wondered where your food was grown? Do you have a desire to learn how to grow, cook, and preserve your own food? Would you like to become involved with community gardening and urban farming projects in Southeast Michigan? Cultivating Community offers an opportunity for University of Michigan students to become leaders in the area of community food systems through hands-on organic gardening, community outreach, and volunteer activities.
Today more than ever people are curious about the food they consume. Through Cultivating Community, UM students can learn about the benefits of local food production and eating seasonally. We offer a hands-on experience for students to explore sustainable food systems through small-scale organic gardening, field trips to local food-related projects, and workshops on various aspects of sustainable food production and consumption.
Cultivating Community practices no-spray techniques and avoids petrochemical-based fertilizers. Instead we employ organic means such as crop rotation, companion planting and composting to manage fertility and pests.
Cultivating Community is a student program that is a part of the University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum.