Unleashing the "power of plants" on campus

Despite the gray days and chilly weather, Beth Young, instructor in food and nutrition, decided February was the perfect time for her Community Nutrition class to plant a garden.

"We wanted to get as much variety as we could," she explains, listing the many micro greens being added by students one afternoon. Each seedling (dandelion, broccoli, arugula) has its own tiny home in a bright, cozy corner of a classroom on the third floor of the Health Professions Center. Close to 70 plants fill the tall, white plastic tube surrounded by hanging lights.

"When she [Young] said [we'd be planting] a Tower Garden, I honestly was kind of like, 'What's a Tower Garden?'" recalls Claire Johnson '19, exercise science and kinesiology. "I was so intrigued."

The vertical, self-watering growing system, funded through an American Heart Association grant, is a new twist on Young's long-standing service-learning approach to the course-and the inspiration behind curriculum her students are developing. Through a partnership with the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation, they're creating lesson plans for fourth-grade students at Lincoln Elementary School. "We cover a variety of topics that tie back in to eating healthy and growing your own foods," Young says.

"It was exciting to learn that we would develop lesson plans to help teach kids about nutrition and health, and that we're growing things to go with it," says Brianna Lynch '19, food and nutrition.

"I love the fact that we are going to be able to do this with young kids," adds Mackenzie Hart '19, public relations and advertising. She recently added a nutrition minor and says working with her classmates to build the tower was a breakthrough, of sorts. "We were passing each other the parts and problem solving as a unit, so it was really cool," Hart says. "I almost think we have a different vibe in the classroom [now], more open communication."

The project may not have happened if not for Sally Gries Smith '02 M'16, director of community engagement and special projects. Smith, a nutrition enthusiast, was attending an American Heart Association breakfast on campus more than a year ago when an idea popped into her mind and wouldn't go away. 

"I was just like, 'We've got to get a tower up here [in the Health Professions Center]. I don't know how, but we've got to get a tower up here,'" Smith recalls. "I know its impact in other communities and its impact in other schools, and that's important to me. I just know it will be a good impact on this campus. It just felt like a natural place for it."

Smith has seen-and tasted-the results of the indoor garden tower: she has one at home and helped Young's class install theirs.

"The more I learn, the more I believe in the power of plants," says Smith, who still enjoys checking on the garden's progress.

The plans Young's students are developing won't be implemented at Lincoln until next school year. In the meantime, she's tasked them with finding and applying for grants to help Lincoln buy its own tower. "Something that I try to do in all my classes is real world, hands-on applications," Young says. "It's not just a mock thing or a case study; they're actually going to be doing this."

And, hopefully, doing it well enough to inspire a new generation to not just eat their vegetables, but grow them, too.

[Community Nutrition students were invited to take home produce harvested from the indoor garden before those seedlings and plants were gifted to Southern Roots, a student growers club that maintains an outdoor garden on campus. New seedlings will be planted inside.]

Community Nutrition students work together to setup their indoor garden tower

Community Nutrition students Mackenzie Hart '19 and Clair Johnson '19 discuss the indoor garden tower

See how the indoor garden tower works