The 16x70 foot spot on the south side of the McKay Campus School wasn’t much to look at, just a grassy area wedged between the cafeteria and a parking lot, sporting some weeds and clover and not much else.

But Biology Professor Chris Picone saw potential, a place where Fitchburg State and the McKay community could come together to make something big.

Since June, Picone, along with volunteers from the campus and elementary school, have been working together to create a community garden. In just a few short months, the group has helped raise and harvest tomatoes, sunflowers, cucumbers, pumpkins, marigolds, basil, green beans, nasturtium and summer squash.

“In a way, philosophically, you’re cultivating the right mentality for people to change the world. People might just start other gardens. You’re doing something to benefit someone else, and you benefit from other people’s work,” said Picone.

Many people have played a role in the garden, from McKay students who lovingly nurtured the seedlings until the end of the school year, to Upward Bound students who cared for the plot over the summer, to volunteers who dug, watered, weeded, planted and donated. Some of the materials were purchased through a President’s Initiative grant.

Sustainability is the primary motivation behind this community garden. Picone wants McKay students to see how food is grown. And they can—literally. As the kids munch on a salad in the cafeteria, they can view the garden it came from right next door.

“We want people to be eating locally. Some of the food will be used in the cafeteria. And we also want the kids to bring it home. It’s the infectious aspect of it,” Picone said.

The garden has become a part of the McKay science curriculum, and Fitchburg State’s education majors can use it as part of their student-teaching curriculum.

McKay teachers Lisa Vitelli and Cynthia Lilljequist have involved their Life Skills classes in the community garden.

“I’ve wanted to do something like this for a long time,” Vitelli said. “We’ve always been using plants in the classroom; we’ve always been growing things.”

The kids, who are in kindergarten through fourth grade, grew seedlings in class. They’ve used the project as a basis for data gathering and created charts and graphs about their plants.

“They absolutely love it,” Vitelli said. “They’ve done plant boxes before so this is really cool for them. We hope to have a salad party at the school and get more people involved.”

Another goal is to cut into what Picone refers to as “nature deficit disorder.”

“When we grew up, we had wild places behind our houses. Those wood lots and spaces were later eaten up by development. It’s hard now for a kid to go into nature and get their hands dirty. Culturally, things have changed,” he said.

The garden allowed Upward Bound students to add a little nature to their lives. Fitchburg High School senior Amanda Kosaketh and Monty Tech senior Kelsey Cormier are two Upward Bound members who helped out over the summer. The teens weeded, watered and planted.

“I love gardening. I helped with the memorial garden at Fitchburg High School. It’s interesting to learn about how to keep a garden and grow the plants,” Kosaketh said.

Cormier had some prior green thumb experience, so the McKay garden was a perfect project for her Upward Bound experience.

“I’ve planted with my dad. We did some vegetables and plants. This garden is great. I love learning about plants and vegetables,” she said.

On a sunny, humid July day four weeks into the project, Picone and Professor Liz Gordon worked with Upward Bound students Kosaketh, Mariah Griffith of Fitchburg High School, and Jonathan Cotto of Monty Tech on planting new bean seeds.

“This garden is like an experiment,” Picone told them. “You never know what’s going to happen.”

The group also had a chance to sample the first tastes of the garden. Basil and the edible flower nasturtium were ready for picking.

Cotto wasn’t fond of the orange nasturtium, described as “spicy,” but he’s enjoying the garden project.

“I think this is a good experience. It’s better for people to eat fresh vegetables,” he said.

Watching the students, Gordon said she was pleased at how the project has come together.

“I’m surprised at how quickly everything happened. We got donations, we got the support of McKay, the College and the Upward Bound program,” said Gordon, who teaches Earth Science. “Chris has brought together a great group of people. It’s nice to see them get excited about the garden.”

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