Students Help Feed Community with Eco Hub

On a campus known for cultivating a love for science, engineering, the arts and business, UT Dallas students are digging into a different kind of cultivation – a student-run farm that will eventually help feed students and others who are food insecure.

The centerpiece of the UTD Eco Hub is a newly planted 20,000-square-foot farm. It includes a honeybee apiary, green space and picnic tables, and is located next to the new city of Richardson water tower on Synergy Park Boulevard.

“This will be a student-focused project from beginning to end,” said Gary Cocke, director of sustainability and energy conservation. “It’s great having this facility where we can gather students who care about these topics and see what they can do with it.”

Approximately 65 students have volunteered to care for the farm. Last fall they planted their first crops, which they watered, monitored and will eventually harvest.

For several years, UT Dallas has provided a community garden near the University Village student apartments, where members of the campus community have had the opportunity to garden — primarily for themselves.

The farm will be different in that the harvested crops will be donated primarily to the Comet Cupboard food pantry and to the North Texas Food Bank.

“It’s students directly helping other students,” said Caroline Lonneman, a geosciences senior and student director of the Eco Hub. “You’re growing the food, and then you’re providing it for other students on campus, which is nice.”

– Phil Roth