Razed Buildings Make Way for DePaul's Urban Garden

An expansive garden of tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, berries and mixed greens grows on a busy DePaul University campus corner where three buildings once stood.

The DePaul Urban Garden, known by students as "DUG", is nestled on Belden Avenue and Bissell Street.

Its mission is to serve the university as well as provide a refuge where students, staff and faculty can learn about urban agriculture and engage with their local food system, according to the initiative's website.

"We're learning about how it is that ... you need to work with degraded ecosystems like the one we're in, which was three buildings that were torn down, razed," Barbara Willard, associate professor in the school's college of communication, said in a video. "We had a gravel lot and essentially no soil whatsoever."

DUG is a student-led project to raise awareness about food systems, food security and social justice. Students donate half of their crop yield because "fresh, organic, locally produced food should be available to everyone."

The remaining harvest is distributed through the DUC Community Supported Agriculture Program. 

Watch the accompanying video to learn more.

E-mail depaulUFO@gmail.com for additional information.