‘SPROUT’ project germinates perfect union of
soil, water and community partners

The group grows the produce, with students or anyone else willing to help maintaining the garden, weeding and watering the plants. (Photo by Liberty Willms)

By JAN WILLMS

Margaret Shields called it the perfect moment. You might even call it the perfect germination.

Shields, a student at Hamline University, said the organization she founded, Students Proposing Real Options for Underutilized Territory (SPROUT), was looking around for land to use for growing produce. And Rolfe Leary, a member of Hamline United Methodist Church at 1514 Englewood, said the garden plot behind the church was getting out of control.

“It needed constant watering, and shrubs and trees were dying,” he said. “It was becoming quite a hassle.”

He said one of the church members, Amy Schultz, had an idea to plant vegetables. The thought was that the church could grow them and give them away. But the continual need for upkeep and maintenance of the garden was presenting quite a challenge.

“Out of the blue, SPROUT showed up looking for some land,” he said. Leary said the Hamline students had some ideas on what to plant and grow for the best nutrition.

“Those of us at the church stepped back and tried to support the youth,” he said. “And the produce needed to go somewhere, so it was arranged to give it to the older folks in the neighborhood.”

“We had been talking to the Hamline Midway Coalition,” said Shields. “They had said there was a space right behind the church.” The group approached the Hamline Midway Environmental Group that connected the volunteers with the Hamline Midway Elders, housed in the church, and a plan was born.

“They were ecstatic about the idea of collaborating,” Shields said.

SPROUT is a very new organization, according to Shields.

“We have been meeting and active since January,” she said. “But the idea has been a long time coming.” She said there is a core membership of 12-15 active members who come to meetings and workdays. “We have about 60 friends on Facebook,” she added.

“This is something I have been thinking of for a really long time,” she said. “I worked on a farm last summer and was in Latin America for a year.” She is getting her major in Latin American studies and Spanish with an economic minor.

“My time abroad definitely affected what I wanted to do,” she said. “I felt like I really wanted to do something in the neighborhood and community I lived in and that I had the ability to affect. It all fits together in my mind.”

She said the organization’s idea has morphed and changed over time, as discussions were held about what people wanted to do and what the needs are.

The group grows the produce, with students or anyone else willing to help maintaining the garden, weeding and watering the plants. There is kale, a variety of lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, turnips and corn. Two harvests have already been gathered.

The Hamline Midway Elders have made connections with a younger youth group, who provide assistance to some of the elderly in the community by mowing lawns and performing other chores. They help with the harvest of the garden and help distribute the produce, according to Shields.

“The produce is distributed on a needs basis,” Shields said. She said the produce is divided into Community Supported Agriculture shares.

“Hamline Hi-Rise gets eight-ten shares on a weekly basis and three private residences in the Hamline-Midway area are receiving shares,” she said.

“With the excess we hope to hold some community potlucks or supply fresh vegetables for a Tuesday lunch at the church provided by the Hamline Midway Elders,” Shields said.

Although the garden behind Hamline United Methodist is SPROUT'S main project, the organization also has a smaller garden behind some houses on Minnehaha. These gardens contain several kinds of herbs.

There are also 10 container gardens on campus, featuring ornamental edibles. There are nasturtiums, chives and marigolds in these gardens.

“In the spring, we hosted a documentary film series at the Hamline Library, open to the public,” Shields said. “We showed movies about environmental food justice and had a pretty good turnout. The group is active all year long, and we are looking forward to our second year.”

She said the community collaboration does require a lot of extra work and thought. “We’re trying to be inclusive,” she said. “And since we’re such a new organization, we have no budget at all. We have been trying to get donations.”

Shields said she made a connection with Urban Farming, a national nonprofit, that also has several community gardens in St. Paul.

“They donated tools, seeds and some soil,” she said. “They have been really helpful in getting us material resources.”

She said the gardening has made her much more aware of the weather.

“When it’s warm and muggy, I think of the weeds creeping up,” she said. “I’m always grateful when it rains. I used to think of overcast days as being rainy; now I realize there is a big difference when it actually rains. And super-hot days also go into the development of a productive garden.”

“I am starting to learn my flowers,” Shields said. “My mom used to have a huge flower garden. But I think what got me interested in vegetables is that you go from seed to plate. You can say the same for flowers, but I’m an eater. I love to be able to eat the fruits of my labor.”

Shields said she thinks members of her generation had kind of lost the knowledge of gardening.

“A lot of students just don’t understand how things grow, but they are receiving that knowledge,” she said. “It’s really an important education process that takes quite a bit of work.”

She said her group is trying to start small, but do really well.

“We hope to continually be growing and expanding our reach,” she added.