The Rice University Campus is home to three community gardens: (1) Martel Garden, on Sunset Boulevard behind Martel College; (2) Hanszen Garden, on Alumni Drive near Hanszen College and alongside the South Servery; (3) Wiess Garden, on the curve of Alumni Drive, at the perimeter of Wiess College. Each fall and spring, Dr. Jennifer Rudgers leads a course, "EBIO/ENST 204 Environmental Sustainabilit
y: The design and practice of community agriculture." This course, co-instructed by Nancy Rowe and Liz Tussey, introduces students to the fundamentals of community garden design and practice. Students' responsibilities center on developing and improving the Rice Community Gardens. There is a strong emphasis on learning and applying ecological principles to the practice of community agriculture. Topics change each semester, but include issues such as include pest control and food web ecology, building sustainable soil, and maximizing yield in an urban environment. Students form gardening teams, each of which manage one of the three current campus gardens. Within these groups, garden management includes: garden design and crop planning/rotation, effective soil building and composting, organic and sustainable weed and pest control, creating habitat to attract beneficial insects.
