Each month we provide information on different opportunities students and employees have to get involved on campus and in the community. These opportunities range from simple on-campus clubs and organizations to immersion trips throughout the country, or even world, over breaks. Since Sustainability is such a broad topic, we try to provide a large selection of options for Missouri State students. For this installment of Get Involved, we are focusing on the Campus Garden.

Are you looking for a volunteer opportunity that allows you to be outside and engaging with the environment? Do you have a green thumb and want to put it to good use? Do you want to feed your community fresh, healthy produce? If the answer to any of those questions was yes, then the Campus Garden might be the perfect opportunity for you!

Made possible by the Sustainability Commission and Student Government Association, the campus garden is a student managed sustainability project that allows students to supplement their traditional education with hands on applications that also benefit the community.

A garden with a mission

The mission of the campus garden is to serve as an all-natural educational resource for Missouri State University that provides fresh nutritional produce to not just only fellow students, but also members of the campus and Springfield communities. Another mission of theirs is to serve as an environmentally and socially sustainable resource for service learning on campus. When volunteering, you’ll notice they are using the banner bags that have been sold in the bookstore. Those banner bags are a symbol of the steps the university has taken to be more sustainable, and how different organizations are willing to step up and be more sustainable themselves.

You’ll find that the campus garden welcomes any and everyone who wants to help. Clubs and organizations as well as classes and other large groups are welcomed and encouraged to get involved. Volunteering here can count toward community service requirements and other service learning needs, so if you’re passionate about growing things to help the community, this opportunity is perfect for you!

Interested?

If you are interested in learning more about all-natural gardening, environmentally friendly methods, sustainable urban farming or would just like more information on how to get involved please contact the campus garden manager, Kara Powelson at Powelson97@live.missouristate.edu

You can also email the Campus Garden team at CampusGarden@missouristate.edu

If you’d like to sign up, you can find a link to the page here!