Carolina Community Garden
Employee Forum Liaison report
Liaison: Arlene Medder, Jacob Hurst, Ally Wardell
In June 2023, with help from the Employee Forum CCG sent a survey. It was sent to 9195 addresses and was open for two weeks. Of the 921 people who started the survey, 851 responded. That’s a 10% response rate and of that 10% a 92% completion rate. By the standards of this sort of survey, that is an excellent response. In addition, 299 people signed up to receive the CCG newsletter by email.
Of the respondents, two were randomly selected. One received a jar of honey from the garden’s hives and the other got a CCG t-shirt.
Appendix 1 has the summary of survey questions and appendix 2 has the summary of answers.
People magazine took some photos when employees of Cisco came out volunteer in August 2023. Cisco was recognized for their community and caring spirit and a team came to work in the garden. PEOPLE’s 100 Companies That Care in 2023: Meet the Employers Putting Their Communities First
CCG accepts compost material year-round in hands free receptacles placed outside the garden. A graphic is available as a reference guide. https://ncbg.unc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/963/2019/07/CCCG-compost-rules.jpg
On August 31st a special volunteer workday was held for anyone who needed some hands on peace and quiet after the tragedy of August 29th.
On October 12th a virtual lunchbox talk was sponsored by the NC Botanical Garden. Okra and Collards; Saving and Savoring Two Southern Staples, was given by Chris Smith, Executive Director of the Utopian Seed Project.
For the year 2023, there were 57 distributions, donating 4000+ pounds of produce. Volunteers worked 4,086 hours, with a significant increase in graduate student and staff teams and groups. Appendix 3 has graphs of this information.
In January 2024, Chapel Hill grit was used for paths in the garden. With that accomplished, 6 raised garden beds were started, 18’x4’, using donated black locust from Robi Decking, a NC Botanical Garden corporate partner. These were completed in March and provide gardening options for those with limited range of movement or mobility.
CCG Advisory Board met March 27th via Zoom to update the board on projects and introduce new members. One of the topics was a replacement for the tree just outside the garden gate. It provided shade and made an excellent location for harvested produced before distribution, however the tree had to be removed due to its ill health and the danger of falling branches.
The Daily Tar heel did an edition in March about food and food access in Chapel Hill. As part of that coverage, Claire Lorch and Arlene Medder were interviewed for an article on the CCG.
https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2024/04/university-carolina-community-garden-feature
In April, with the support of the Employee Forum delegates, a parking solution for volunteers was reached in cooperation with UNC parking and transportation. Community volunteers (which excludes UNC students, staff, and faculty) are now permitted to park in the Nash lot using a special mobile parking app during Tuesday and Wednesday workdays through the end of July 2024.
On April 15, with volunteers from Aveda Institute, 50 potted tomato plants were distributed to all three shifts of housekeepers, the garden recipients.
The two beehives continue to thrive, as does the extensive composting operation. The solar powered greenhouse is excellent for starting seedlings before planting them in the garden.
The next project, that has funding, is to expand the garden with two new 40’x4’ beds. The future project still needing funding is a shed roof shelter that would support solar panels and provide much needed shade. Since the garden does not have access to powerlines the energy produced would help with a variety of current and future needs, including, but not limited to, recharging battery-operated power tools, teaching and training opportunities requiring monitors or projection, lighting for both work needs and cooking demonstrations. With the rise in temperatures, the shade would make the workdays and the garden distributions more pleasant, protect people and harvested produce before it can be transported to a refrigerator.
And Carolina Cupboard reached out in May to investigate the possibility and logistics of forming a partnership with CCG. More discussions will take place in early fall.
Employee Forum delegates 1
*Appendix 1
Survey questions
- Have you volunteered in the garden (‘no’ jumped querent to question 3)
- How important is each of the following to you as a reason for volunteering?
- 8 reasons
- Scaled from 1-3 in importance
- 54 responses
- Were you aware of these other ways to participate (check all that apply)
- Team building
- Class project/engaged scholarship
- Conduct research or conduct research for garden
- 656 responses
- What impact does the garden have on the way you perceive the University?
- Open ended answers
- 19 responses
- Which of the following do you feel are impacts of the CCG?
- 10 reasons
- Scaled from 1-3 in importance
- 637-643 responses
- What aspect(s) of the CCG would you most like to see continue over the next 5 years?
- Open ended answers
- 20 answers, 9 of which are ‘not sure’ or similar
- What aspect(s) of the CCG would you most like to see changed of the next 5 years?
- Open ended answers
- 20 responses, of which 13 are ‘not sure’ or similar
- What is your affiliation?
- Survey was sent to staff so overwhelming response was staff
- But there was at least one faculty & one other
- What department or unit are you affiliated with?
- Open ended answers
- 19 answers
- How did you learn about the garden (check all that apply)?
- 9 responses to choose from
- Would you like to share anything with us about the CCG or any of your previous responses
- Open ended answers
- 20 responses, with 13 being some variant of ‘no’
**Appendix 2
Garden Survey Answers
- By far the most common answer was ‘I have not volunteered’ with 1-2 time a year, once a month, and more than once a month being about equal.
- Importance of each reason for volunteering in the garden
- Experiencing a sense of purpose and involvement
- On a scale of 1-3, mean 2.54
- Standard deviation .53 & variance .29
- Enjoying the senses of the garden (sight, sound, etc)
- On a scale of 1-3, mean 2.39
- Standard deviation .62 & variance .39
- Physical activity
- On a scale of 1-3, mean 2.28
- Standard deviation .68 & variance .47
- Freedom and playfulness
- On a scale of 1-3, mean1.96
- Standard deviation .72 & variance .52
- Making health food available to lower wage UNC-CH staff
- On a scale of 1-3, mean 2.69
- Standard deviation .54 & variance .29
- Mentally refreshed or recover from mental fatigue
- On a scale of 1-3, mean 2.46
- Standard deviation .57 & variance .32
- Meeting new people
- On a scale of 1-3, mean 1.85
- Standard deviation .70 & variance .50
- Learning/improving garden skills
- On a scale of 1-3, mean 2.04
- Standard deviation .72 & variance .52
- Other ways to participate in CCG
- Team building
- On a scale of 1-3, mean 1.89
- Standard deviation .4 & variance .16
- Class project or engaged scholarship
- On a scale of 1-3, mean 1.89
- Standard deviation .31 & variance .09
- Research
- On a scale of 1-3, mean 1.94
- Standard deviation .23 & variance .05
- CCG changes perception of the University
- Encourages individuals to be more sustainable
- I think this is a fantastic thing offered through the university that I never knew about! I think to offer a community gardening program has a very positive impact on the surrounding community and university.
- The provision of community gardens and composting services should be mandatory at all land-grand universities. I expect UNC-CH to provide leadership in this area.
- I’ve never thought of the garden in relation to the university. When I think of it now, it does has some positive impact on the way I perceive the university, but there are so many negative things about the university that outweigh the positive.
- UNC seems more caring and home-y with the garden
- I’m so thrilled to learn it exists! This is meaningful and I wish I’d known earlier.
- I did not know how the food was cultivated or who benefitted from it. This system is incredibly valuable at building student life skills. I wonder how many staff are able to take advantage of the food provided and do they need resources to help prepare it? It certainly increases my pride in and support of the university system.
- It’s nice to walk by and look at
- 2 answers of ‘no impact’ although 1 did say it was a good thing & 1 since I didn’t know the garden existed, I’m not sure how to answer
- Connecting with the community, facilitating a sense of fulfillment in taking care of our environment and community
- Now that I know about it, it sounds great!
- It demonstrates that the university has a genuine interest beyond academia, it is part of the community, and it puts forth all its effort to assist those who need it most.
- I think it is one of the symbols of the university
- The existence and funding of the Carolina Community Garden improves my opinion of UNC.; It is a special place with many benefits.
- I’m glad it exists
- Positive impact
- I love hearing about what’s happening at the CCG. It’s one of the only UNC community focused projects that I can really see and understand the impact of as we get updates about how much fresh produce has been give to those in our community who make far less than the non-staff employees on campus.
- CCG impacts
- Pride in the university
- On a scale of 1-3, mean 2.24
- Standard deviation .59 & variance .35
- Improves town/university relationship
- On a scale of 1-3, mean 2.15
- Standard deviation .67 & variance .43
- Shows university cares about staff
- On a scale of 1-3, mean 2.29
- Standard deviation .67 & variance .45
- Attracts prospective students
- On a scale of 1-3, mean1.75
- Standard deviation .66 & variance .44
- Inspires sustainable garden practices
- On a scale of 1-3, mean 2.32
- Standard deviation .59 & variance .34
- Serves as a model for other universities
- On a scale of 1-3, mean 2.30
- Standard deviation .61 & variance .37
- Improves community’s general health
- On a scale of 1-3, mean 2.30
- Standard deviation .63 & variance .40
- Demonstrates university’s commitment to sustainability
- On a scale of 1-3, mean 2.38
- Standard deviation .65 & variance .42
- Beautifies neighborhood
- On a scale of 1-3, mean 2.53
- Standard deviation .56 & variance .32
- Aspects of CCG to continue over next 5 years
- 9 answers that were ‘don’t know enough to say’ or ‘no comment’
- All of the above
- I love how welcoming the CCG is. I love working with new people and learning about plants and insects and growing things. I think it’s fantastic that the produce is given to housekeepers.
- Continue to operate and give away vegetables to the community
- A mixture of native species and species from around the world that do well in this climate.
- The flexibility of when to volunteer is really nice
- Community engagement and expansion of area (if possible).
- I would like to see the bulk to [sic] produce to be given to UNC housekeepers and other low-pay staff on campus
- Team building activities
- Perhaps continue to provide opportunities for education on gardening and allowing teams to do team-building activities.
- Still allowing teams to come and volunteer in the garden. I feel like it is a great way to display team work in a creative way
- Volunteer opportunities
- What aspects of CCG to change over the next five years?
- 13 answers of none, I’m not sure, etc
- 7 answers recommending more advertisement, events, exposure, social media, etc
- Visibility. I had worked for the university for a few years before hearing from a coworker you’re here – and I would’ve loved to know sooner! 😊[sic]
- And one answer that was both ‘not sure’ and ‘maybe more advertising’
- Leadership in composting to increase awareness and community-wide adoption of sustainable practices.
- University affiliation
- This was targeting staff so the overwhelming majority were staff
- But at least one faculty member and ‘other’ responded
- University department or unit?
- 11 health affairs, including school of Pharmacy
- 3 academic
- TEACCH
- 1 each Morehead Planetarium and Carolina Performing Arts
- & 1 n/a
- How did you learn about CCG
- Largest response was ‘did not know’
- 2nd largest was employee forum newsletter (InTouch)
- 3rd largest was seeing it in the neighborhood
- 4th was from a friend or co-worker
- 5th was a tie between CCG or NCBG and other
- 7th was employee appreciation fair
- 8th was social media
- Anything else to share about CCG or previous responses
- 13 ‘no’ or similar
- I look forward to seeing how the CCG might partner with the AIC’s intended garden space. I think the CCG is linked with Edible Campus, but I’m not sure of the affiliation.
- I love this place and so do my kids
- Best of luck for continued success
- I think the CCG is a great idea and the volunteers are doing a great job
- I did not know about the volunteer opportunities to help with the CCG, so that is good to know!
- Glad it exists! Kudos to those that make it happen.
- I would like to see CCG address the prevalence of invasive species. Where I live there are many areas overrun with kudzu, english [sic] ivy, and japanese [sic] stiltgrass that pose a significant threat to the health of our native habitats.
- Pride in the university
- Team building
- Experiencing a sense of purpose and involvement
***Appendix 3
Graphs of Garden data 2023