SSLUG garden TLC

What is the SSLUG Garden?

The garden run by the Students for Sustainable Living and Urban Gardening (SSLUG) is a much-loved fixture on south campus: a thriving vegetable garden and community gathering place. The mission of the SSLUG Garden program is to create a welcoming environment for people from all backgrounds to gather and learn about sustainable food methods through hands-on experiences. In addition to shaping bright minds, SSLUG is committed to innovative techniques that support a sustainable future.

What we do

• Integrate growing local foods and food sustainability issues at a university level via hands-on learning

• Promote community gardening advocate for food justice, planting, composting, and seed collection

• Educate students from all different backgrounds about food sustainability and local gardening

• Enhance collaboration with the broader community

Your gift supports a graduate student and purchases garden supplies

Your gift supports hiring an experienced graduate student who will serve as the Campus Organic Gardner (COG) and purchase supplies and equipment. The COG will be responsible for SSLUG Garden management, volunteer coordination and outreach, and works closely with other students in the Sustainable Communities Program, School of Earth and Sustainability, Office of Sustainability, and other units to engage students in hands-on participation to grow food on campus.

Supporting the SSLUG garden contributes to campus sustainability efforts and helps maintain an important asset for NAU students and the community. Students regularly enjoy and benefit from participating in the SSLUG Garden.

Working in the SSLUG Garden allows me to pursue one of my greatest passions: sustainable food systems. I feel so fortunate for this opportunity because it aligns with my studies in environmental sustainability and provides a space where I can physically create positive changes rather than just read about them. The garden offers an educational and peaceful environment for NAU students and creates unity through the importance of sustainable food production.”

--Sydney Rittershaus, undergraduate

The SSLUG Garden promotes sustainable food systems through the demonstration of organic growing methods in a campus setting. Hands-on participation in planting, harvesting, seeding, seed collecting, and soil amendment activities enable volunteers to learn how to grow a variety of food crops in a challenging high-elevation climate. This Garden features short-season heirloom vegetables, medicinal, and culinary herbs, climate-appropriate fruit trees and berries, along with native wildflowers and shrubs.

Garden volunteers are invited to harvest from the garden for their personal use and well-being. Additional produce is placed on the Farm table, donated to garden supporters, and taken to the Flagstaff Family Food Center.

To learn more https://in.nau.edu/sslug-garden