As the weather gets warmer and sunnier, Marquette students are teaming up with residents and local church members to bring vegetables and friendship to a neighborhood just west of campus.
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 2812 W. Wisconsin Ave., is in the final stages of organizing a community garden, where a diverse group of volunteers are coming together to beautify the community.
“I envision the garden to be a new Eden,” said St. Paul’s Pastor Donna Brown. “It will be a place where we can bring the community together — an area of land cultivated by the young, the African-Americans, the Laotian community and the old white folks.”
Brown said her idea for a garden originated three years ago when she attended a workshop on community gardening.
“I’m not a master gardener or anything, but I saw this as a great way to positively impact our community,” she said.
Her idea went on the backburner after the intended space for the garden on the Near West Side became unavailable.
That’s when Marquette student Chris Owen came in.
“He really shared in the passion for the idea of the garden,” Brown said. “We said, ‘Let’s do it,’ and the ball has been rolling since.”
Owen, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, interns at St. Paul’s and has been rallying support for the garden idea among Marquette students.
Representatives from various student groups, including Students for an Environmentally Active Campus, Midnight Run, JUSTICE and the Center for Peacemaking attended a recent planning meeting.
“We have a great group with great ideas,” Owen said. “It’s people from all walks of life.”
A second meeting is planned for March 22 to discuss the group’s vision, mission, assets and outreach interest.
The location of the community garden is yet to be decided, but Brown said it could be in one of several city-owned vacant lots in the surrounding area. The group has a verbal commitment from the city for a lot on 29th Street south of Clybourn Street.
Wayne Ringwolski has lived in the neighborhood all his life and has been a parishioner at St. Paul’s for 45 years. Owen labeled Ringwolski as one of the group’s “master gardeners,” though Ringwolski is more modest.
“I wouldn’t say that, but I’ve been gardening for 15 to 20 years now and I’m looking forward to helping out,” he said.
Ringwolski said he hopes the students’ enthusiasm will become infectious around the neighborhood.
Brown hopes to break ground on the garden April 21. Seedlings have already been planted in containers and are being prepared.
“This garden is about the community and Marquette, the old and the young, the different ethnic groups, all growing together,”she said.