UMass Boston

Growing sustainability and resilience connections

The community garden is intended to serve as a dynamic educational space, where students, faculty, and staff can learn about sustainable food production while fostering direct connections with nature and their peers. It also contributes to local food security and wellness, as the produce that is harvested during program hours will be donated to the campus food pantry, U-Access.

How the Garden Grew

This project builds on ongoing campus-as-a-living-laboratory efforts that connect students to experiential applied learning in sustainability and climate resilience. UMass Boston Community members- students, faculty, and staff have long wanted a place on campus to grow food and learn about plant biodiversity. 

UMass Boston students have been heavily involved since the garden’s inception. In 2025, students ran a survey to measure interest in the garden among their peers, as part of an Honors College class co-taught by Janna Cohen-Rosenthal, Sustainability & Resiliency Planner and Bala Balachandran, the Executive Director of the Sustainable Solutions Lab.

UMass Boston partnered with Green City Growers, an urban agriculture expert, to manage and provide education for the community garden. We are also thankful to the City of Boston's GrowBoston program for funding 4 out of the 8 raised beds. 

How to Get Involved

Each week, a farmer educator will arrive with a weekly topic, materials, plants, seeds, and gardening tools. They will lead the garden session and guide volunteers through a hands-on gardening experience, teaching as they go. No prior experience is necessary; all are welcome and encouraged to participate. The produce that is harvested during program hours will be able to be tasted by volunteers but the bulk will be provided to the campus food pantry, U-Access. 

During the Fall 2026 Semester workshops are Thursdays from 12 PM-3 PM. The first ~15 min (9:00-9:15 AM) will be dedicated to education on the weekly topic; the rest of the time will be hands-on gardening! Participants can drop-in and work on the garden at any time during the program session.

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Group Workshops 

You can also reserve time for your class, club, or office to have a special group workshop.

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