Don't Let Natalie Ronning's Long, Wavy Auburn Hair, Bright Blue Eyes Or

Student Gardeners that serves meals and provides food to people program. Don’t let Natalie in need in Sioux Falls. “In the Reading Augustana course, we Ronning’s long, wavy The Augie Garden is funded through a look at the Augie garden as a model of grant administered by the Service-Learning responsible citizenship,” said Jeffrey Miller, auburn hair, bright blue Program, an initiative designed to integrate chair of the Department of English and community service and civic engagement with Journalism and director of Civitas. “You eyes or pink fingernail academic study. Augustana faculty members have students practicing the Jeffersonian work hand-in-hand with representatives from virtue of working with the land, things polish fool you. All community agencies to develop service- we read about in a number of essays in girly-girlness aside, she’s learning projects that will meet community- the course. Then, you get to watch their identified needs. care for that land transform into care for not afraid to get her “What’s so incredible about the Augie the Sioux Falls community in the produce Garden is that it was almost entirely student- they donate to the Banquet and the work hands dirty. Spiders, led. The students came up with the original students in the course do with the Banquet earthworms, rodents – idea to have a garden, and they took the as well.” initiative to talk to the facilities group and Jamie Horter, ’10, played a key role in they don’t faze her either. find volunteers. It wasn’t until much later that starting the garden last year. She hopes the Ronning, a senior from Rapid City majoring they learned about the potential for faculty garden project will continue to grow – both in biology and Spanish, serves as the leader support,” said Reynold Nesiba, associate in size and by volunteers. for the student-managed Augie Garden, a professor of economics and director of “The garden is really part of a larger rectangular cornucopia of green, red, orange Service-Learning at Augustana. “The Augie vision, which is to someday produce food and yellow vegetables just behind Augustana’s Garden really allows us to think about for our students who eat in the Commons, “Green” theme house. Yet as Ronning points environmental issues and our responsibility to in addition to helping those in our out, the Augie Garden is doing far more than the community.” community,” she said. just growing produce. In July, officials at The Banquet already To help accomplish that goal, the YMCA “This garden is really about fulfilling a estimated that the Augie Garden had fed and Leif Erikson Day Camp recently need,” she said. “In the early stages, we more than 75 people in Sioux Falls. donated six acres of land near I-229 and started thinking about the needs of the Sioux “Things like cucumbers and summer squash Cliff Avenue for the purposes of a larger Falls community. Then we realized we could – those are terribly expensive at the grocery garden. Horter said the students will likely fulfill that need and get people to connect store. Our guests don’t have the luxury to continue working on the Augie Garden with nature while producing something local.” purchase those things. When they see them in its current location for at least another Producing, indeed. In its second season, here at The Banquet, they’re so grateful. It season to hone their skills and uncover best the Augie Garden was a robust place this really does mean a lot to them – that someone practices, such as companion planting. summer, alive with dill, tomatoes, potatoes, would donate food items like these,” said To Horter, watching the success of the summer squash, spinach, lettuce, strawberries, Tamera Jerke-Liesinger, executive director of garden has been fulfilling. zucchini, peas, carrots, cucumbers and The Banquet. “We started with dialogue – a discussion more. Six students tended to the garden and The environmental and social responsibility with people about gardening. What we harvested the produce, which was donated aspects of the Augie Garden are also studied found was a sense of community through weekly to The Banquet, a non-profit agency by students in Civitas, Augustana’s honors Augie.” 8 The AUGUSTANA.

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