Afternoon of Gardens on Campus

1. Roots on the Roof

To start off our afternoon today, we visited the “Roots on the Roof” garden on the rooftop of the AMS Nest. There, we met with Andy who gave us a tour of the garden and introduced us to their purpose and plants! 

Entrance to "Roots on the Roof" garden and sign About Roots on the Roof:

Roots on the roof is a student-led club that manages the rooftop garden on the AMS Nest.  It was founded in 2014 as an offshoot of the Orchard Gardens that was in the space now known as the Orchard Commons. The soil was cultivated by the Indigenous peoples so it is very rich and filled with organic matter. Part of the soil was moved to the Roots on the Roof garden. The garden has many different native plants that constantly grow and cover the soil, protecting it. Some plants in the garden include tomatoes, poppies, melons, and even a mulberry tree and cherry tree. The garden’s focus is on food sovereignty and keeping organic food as accessible as possible. Produce is weighed and sent to the AMS to be put in the Sprouts fridge. 

Panorama image of Roots on the Roof Garden

Chocolate mint leaf and plant They had chocolate mint in the garden! As a hardcore chocolate mint flavour fan, I was absolutely hooked on the sweet and minty scent. 

2. Quick visit to the Permaculture Garden

Scarfe Permaculture Garden On the way back to the Orchard Garden, we stopped by the south side of Scarfe to see how the permaculture garden was doing. 

3. Work party and plant rescue mission

Tomato plants at the Orchard Garden on June 12 and June 16 The plants from Thursday were in dire need of TLC. We had not been able to water since we were away on Friday, and they were unable to get water on the weekend. Today, we focused on giving the plants lots of extra care and water!