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For MSU student housing co-op, containers provide means of practicing sustainability

July 19, 2014

Marketing senior Alex Buchanan demonstrates how to create a garden in a container.

Photo by Sierra Lay | The State News

In a world filled with perpetual change, sustainability can be a necessity.

Sustainability served as a major theme in a Container Gardening Workshop held Saturday at co-op house Vesta. The workshop, created by AmeriCorps and the Mid-Michigan Environmental Action Council cooperatively with the MSU Student Housing Co-op, or SHC, highlighted the idea of sustainable living through the use of growing food planted in upcycled, or re-used, containers.

Host of the workshop and marketing junior Alex Buchanan reused five-gallon plastic pickle containers from the Potbelly Sandwich Shop located on Grand River Avenue.

“Most of our (focus) is access to food,” Buchanan said. “Vegetables in general (are) expensive, so people opt for ... processed food.”

Using just seeds, soil and the containers made suitable by drilling holes in the bottom, Buchanan explained how anyone can grow their own food on a porch or patio.

“East Lansing is a food desert, so there’s no access to healthy organic food within a mile radius,” Buchanan said. “Vegetables off the vine, fresh-picked, have much higher nutrient value than you’re going to get at the stores.”

Participants were offered tomato, pepper and kale seeds to plant as they filled their buckets with moist soil. Many students said they would be taking their new plants home to share with their housemates and friends.

“Growing food is something that may take a collaborative effort,” Residential College in the Arts and Humanities senior and SHC Vice President of Education Joshua Schriver said. “(The workshop) equips them with the know-how to do it themselves.”

One in a series of workshops centered around food, this workshop introduced students who had never tried their hand at gardening before, to the idea of growing their own food.

“I just wanted to start gardening because this is my first year out of the dorms,” media and information senior Catherine Little said.

Little said she thought the workshop was a great way to spread awareness when it comes to living in self-sustaining communities. She said residing in homes with many other people, such as the SHC, prepares young people for being on their own by promoting education and environmental awareness.

The plants that began at the workshop will grow to produce food the participants can bring to the kitchen to nourish themselves and others. Many of the plants will be the ingredients for pasta sauces, salads and other dishes.

Schriver said he hopes the workshops will reverse the misconception that the co-ops are about parties. He said they’re about education and empowerment.

At the end of the day, the plants from the workshop will be a fruitful addition to any home, Buchanan said.

“One thing is for sure,” Schriver said. “It’ll be yummy.”

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