AUNE Garden

The Antioch University New England Garden is a collaborative effort that began to coalesce in the spring of 2009 in order for community members to combine ideas and projects on Antioch grounds. The Garden is part of the local food movement, in addition to providing educational opportunities for Antiochians and local youth. The essence of its sustainability plan is as follows:

• Coordinate plans and ideas with a local master gardener
• Work closely with the Antioch facilities staff
• Design and implement work study and practicum positions
• Utilize a network already present in the community for things such as tool sharing, seed saving, and education opportunities
• Develop rain-catching projects for irrigation uses
• Collaborate with the Monadnock Farm and Community Connection
• Support the City of Keene in its mission to connect with local schools and residents to provide educational opportunities on healthy lifestyle choices
• Enhance the networking and collaboration between departments here at Antioch University New England

The desire to start a community garden stems from interests in consuming local fresh food, building community (within the institution and between the institution and the greater Monadnock Region), expanding hands-on educational opportunities on campus, and increasing Antioch University New England’s overall sustainability. In alignment with AUNE’s purpose of providing “transformative education through scholarship, innovation, and community action for a just and sustainable society,” this garden project offers the opportunity for students to connect classroom learning with place-based service and outreach. This project also provides a way for students and faculty to connect across departments within AUNE, to learn from what their peers have to teach, and to strengthen the internal community of the school.