The California-Riverside Community Garden Essay

The California-Riverside Community Garden - Essay Example The purpose of establishing a garden within the campus was to ensure that the university and the community members had a place where they could grow fruits and vegetables. The location of the UCR community garden is next to the parking lot 30 close to the corner of Canyon Crest Drive, and Martin Luther King Boulevard. Notably, the Riverside region in California has a history of rigorous real estate activities. The California-Riverside community is one of the regions that experienced numerous adverse effects of the economic crisis. This factor triggered many community members to rely on soup kitchens and food banks. However, the main challenge was that the community lacked supplies of fresh produce. One of the graduates from the university named Fortino Morales initiated the idea of setting aside some space within the University for a Community Garden. In order to ensure that the idea was viable, the community coordinated by students from the University and carried a pilot project in 2009. Notably, the project faced certain challenges but proved to be successful (French). Currently, the university has a three-acre community garden that serves as evidence that the students and the community are promoters of the environmental agenda, as well as the global food initiatives. The University has proven to be environmentally friendly because of establishing this garden. When I visited the garden, a great percentage was all green while the remaining percentage was under preparation for planting. Fortino Morales, the concept developer of the UCR community garden envisioned an innovative project that would take place in phases. For this reason, the project began with a quarter an acre and later expanded to a current three acres. The garden has numerous plots ready for use by either the community members or students. Individuals willing to use the plots can access tools, seeds, as well as water free of charge. In addition, the compost used in the plots comes from the UCR dining services (French). For this reason, the community garden supports the recycling of kitchen wastes, which is a strategy of protecting the environment.