Community Garden Overview

A Community Garden for CU-Boulder is in planning!

The CU Environmental Center has obtained funding from Sustainable CU to install an 8000 square foot garden. Site approvals are pending for a garden to be located southeast of Bear Creek apartments. The community garden will have 75 plots available for students, faculty, staff, campus organizations and campus departments to lease.

The garden will improve CU’s sustainability performance. It will provide many opportunities for those that would like to learn how to garden, as well as provide excellent educational workshops on growing food.

Garden members will be given an opportunity to lease a small plot within the designated garden area and produce their own food throughout the growing season (April– October). Gardeners will be allowed to plant a full range of plant species that must be maintained without the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and fungicides.

Community Garden will feature:

  • Seasonal Lease Plots (75 planned)
    • First-come, first-serve for UCB students, faculty, staff, departments, affiliated campus organizations.
    • Option to renew; open plots become available to waitlist prior to each growing season
    • Lessees sign use agreement, pay deposit, and attend mandatory orientation workshop.
    • Lessees participate in community work days
    • Lessees must reside in Boulder during the growing season (April-October)
    • Plots can be shared among individuals (ie among residents of one household)
    • Current plan is for 50-4x10’ plots leased for $35/season and 25-10x10’ plots leased for $50/season.
    • Lessees will pay a $25 deposit which is refundable after lessees clear their plot at the end of the growing season, follow best practices outlined in the lease, and participate in the minimum number of community work hours.
  • Common Plots (500sf planned)
    • Demonstration plots for courses and site visits
    • Portion of produce is designated local hunger charity
    • Portion used for community large plants (ie, squash) for leaseholders
  • Perennial edible landscape (up to 1000 sf outside of fenced garden area)
    • Convert unmanageable and damaged turf to aesthetic perennial beds
    • Feature a few fruit trees, shrubs, herbs
    • Designated for leaseholders use; creates public interface with Williams Village/ Bear Creek residents
    • Consult with landscape architect and pest management re: acceptable species

 

Do you want to lease a garden plot?

Complete the community garden plot Pre-Reservation Interest Form

Site approvals will not be granted in time for plots to be installed for the 2012 growing season.  You can still fill out the interest form so we can keep you updated on the project.  The interest form also will help us to determine how many plots to apportion for individuals (Bear Creek and Williams Village student residents, undergrad students, grad students, faculty/staff) and campus departments and organizations.  If/when the project gets the green light, we will contact everyone who completes the interest form with the reservation confirmation form and payment and deposit instructions.  Reservations will then be on a first-come, first-serve basis.  Those who complete this interest form will have first dibs on the plot reservation process.