- Campus
- 13/09/2016
How sustainable is a vegetable garden?
All kinds of research questions may be devised in connection with sustainable food production. Leo Bakx, permaculture adviser and permanent gardener at TU/e Community Garden, thinks that two of these should certainly be answered during the TUINHACK 2016 at TU/e. ‘What is a smart way to calculate the input and output of a vegetable garden?’ and ‘How can we activate our students to take part?’
For now the TU/e Community Garden has a modest structure. On some 200 square meters six members are growing some fruit and vegetables and herbs. The setup of the first TUINHACK scheduled to take place there on October 8 and 9 is more ambitious. Fifty participants are expected by organizer TU/e Community Garden. In groups they can focus on issues around the themes urban agriculture, neighborhood development and circular economy.
The intention is to build a working prototype that answers questions about making yield, social inclusion and such measurable. Three prizes may be won for the best technical innovation, the greatest multiplication effect of an idea and the most radical out-of-the-box approach.
The TU/e vegetable garden is located at Lismortel between Connector and Paviljoen. It will definitely be possible to grow food there for two more years. “Still, now that the residential tower blocks on the campus are inhabited, it may be wiser to relocate the vegetable garden”, says Bakx. “That way the garden can contribute to achieving a living campus. First and foremost because things are literally growing there, and also because something is being realized by people.”
Such a vegetable garden may prevent residents from feeling isolated. “People meet each other outdoors and can encourage others to join in.” That Vestide, which lets the rooms in Aurora, also considers this to be an important aim, is evidenced, says Bakx, by the fact that it has reserved 30,000 euros for the Aurora residents via the Neighborhood Cultural Fund which is managed by the Prince Bernard Cultural Fund. “The campus is now a residential neighborhood."
You can register for the TUINHACK here.
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