Dalhousie students plot a greener diet

Two separate plots of land at Dalhousie University are producing everything from beet greens and brussel sprouts to heritage tomatoes to lavender and edible flowers. But one group of students found that getting permission to plant was as difficult as an organic chemistry exam.
"It took us a very long time to get this place, and this was not the space we wanted," said Kaleight McGregor-Bales of the group Campus Action on Food.
"This model of garden, since it's in a container, can go on a concrete space, and what we wanted to do was take back unused concrete spaces on campus and use them for growth instead. However, the big open concrete space next to the library that is completely underutilized was denied to us for this season."
Sonia Grant, also with the group, said "the reason (given) was that it was too visible of a space."
The group's Edible Campus space is on a small strip of land next to the back wall of the Student Union Building, where dozens of plastic containers are filled with Swiss chard, beet greens, nasturtium, string beans, kale, tomatoes, peppers and radishes.
Students who work on the garden share in the food and Campus Action on Food has held a session to teach newbies how to use recycled materials to build the containers, which include a watering system built into a false bottom.
The SeeMore Green collective garden is a few blocks away and they have been in existence since 1996.
What a wonderful effort. Hopefully, more students who are on campus during the summer will see the validity of this.