Organic Garden

The Whitman Organic Garden located a short walk from campus—at Penrose Avenue and Pacific Street—was created in 1997 by four students with the help of staff and faculty.

The garden includes a wide variety of annual and perennial vegetables, fruits and herbs. It's also home to a small flock of chickens who produce eggs. The garden is also a space dedicated to spiritual renewal, meaningful labor and community vitality. The Organic Garden is a place where students and community members can hang out, play with chickens, get dirty in the soil, and enjoy the process of creatively growing and eating food. Enjoy a nighttime walk to the garden, sit under the gazebo, pick some basil.

The student-led Organic Garden Club maintains the garden and organizes events to open the space up to the Whitman and the greater community. During the school year, the garden is run by volunteers, and during the summer, student interns keep the garden going.

In an effort to improve soil fertility, the Organic Garden often accepts contributions of food scraps from Whitman students and community members. In our simple compost system, the garden turns the contributed waste into rich soil used to grow more food.

Open Gardens are periodic events when the garden is open to anyone and everyone who wants to be involved. All you have to do is show up! Open Gardens are announced through the organic garden listserv, garden@whitman.edu. During the winter months, there are no Open Gardens due to the weather.  

Student Contact:  Chloe Collins, collinsc@whitman.edu

Faculty Adviser: Alzada Tipton, tiptona@whitman.edu