Students from the Student Residential College Advisory Board, an organization made up of representatives from each major at the Downtown campus, spent a few hours at Growhouse Sunday as part of a new volunteer gardening project.
Growhouse is a business at Sixth and Garfield streets that provides small gardens for downtown residents to grow their own produce at a rate of $10 per month. ASU students will volunteer each week at the garden to water and care for the produce.
“We’re trying to create programs and events for students to get involved in the community and to take advantage of downtown Phoenix,” said journalism sophomore Kari Osep, a member of Student RCAB.
The Growhouse project is intended to promote sustainability and to put an ASU stamp on the downtown community, Osep said.
Christopher Wharton, an assistant professor in the School of Nutrition and Health Promotion, brought the idea for this project to Student RCAB.
Wharton said he hopes the volunteers gain a new appreciation and understanding of Roosevelt Row and the community surrounding it.
At the kickoff on Oct. 21, members of Student RCAB along with Wharton planted broccoli, radishes, parsnips, onions and sunflowers. Student RCAB plans to send two volunteers to Growhouse each week to help water the plants and maintain the garden.
A few times a semester, a larger group of volunteers will harvest the produce. The vegetables will go either to Taylor Place to be available for students or back to the volunteers, depending on how much is grown.
Osep said that Student RCAB hopes to assemble up to 20 volunteers for these larger events.
Rachel Cassinat, a dietetics senior, became involved with Student RCAB’s Growhouse project through Wharton. The project was originally intended for students majoring in nutrition and the health sciences, but any ASU student, regardless of major, can participate.
“A lot of students that move down here feel like they have to go to Tempe to be a part of ASU. We’re really trying to explore more of downtown and show them that there’s so much to be involved in,” Cassinat said. “Tempe is awesome, but so is downtown.”
Local artists Kenny Barrett and Kelly Placke started Growhouse four years ago to provide a community garden for downtown Phoenix residents and nonprofits.
“People just want to get outside for the day with their families, meet their neighbors, and get some sanity,” Barrett said.
Growhouse also has partnered with the Bioscience High School, the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center and HandsOn Greater Phoenix.
In addition to the Growhouse project, Osep said Student RCAB is looking to extend its volunteering to the Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development, an organization that works with homeless young people.
Student RCAB also hopes to partner with other student organizations on campus to set up events like those at Growhouse, Osep said.
Contact the reporter at taylor.e.holmes@asu.edu
