One acre.

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That’s the size of Lehigh’s community garden, located on the university’s Goodman Campus. 

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One acre. It’s the same amount of land that the garden started with back in 2010, when the university agreed to set aside a single acre from the plot of land leased to a local farmer who typically grows corn feed. 

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The garden - originally founded on the vision of bringing people together to grow organic food and work together for a healthier and more sustainable future - however, has morphed, shifted and grown since its early days.

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Tamara Myers, the widow of John Pettegrew, a former professor and chair of history at Lehigh and one of the original co-founders of the garden, estimates that the number of garden plots has increased from 25 to 36 since 2010. She said thousands of pounds of produce are grown each year, ranging from tomatoes, zucchini and squash to lettuce, peas and strawberries. All produce is grown organically at the garden, with no pesticides or other chemicals.

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Myers started her first semester at the University of British Columbia after leaving Lehigh last semester.

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“I think the garden has been a wonderful learning community within the larger Lehigh community,” said Jennifer Jensen, the deputy provost for academic affairs, a professor in political science and one of the garden’s current co-managers. “I think its big successes have been teaching about organic gardening, building community, and providing a way for Lehigh students, staff and faculty to produce their own organic food.”

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Paul Pagoda, a member of Lehigh’s events staff and the other co-manager of the Lehigh Community Garden, said the garden operates with help from his small maintenance team of mowers and trimmers. Each gardener is required to commit two hours per month of “community service” around the garden, performing activities like mending the fence and tending to other common areas of the garden.

“We have a lot of good things happening here,” Pagoda said. “... What it takes to get one tomato out of the ground - you can’t imagine how much work it is.” 

Pagoda said anyone affiliated with Lehigh, including outside contractors, staff, students and faculty, are eligible to become members of the university’s community garden. 

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Each plot is $30 per year, a number he said has remained stagnant for several years. The $30 cost is a flat fee regardless of the size of the individual plot. 

“That is really our primary source of income, although we do get money from the university,” Pagoda said. “I’m not sure how that works. I wish I knew, because we need money.” 

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Pagoda added, however, that six new plots have been constructed to attract new gardeners. The more gardeners who commit to investing in a plot, he said, the more revenue the garden can generate. He said more gardeners is important because he “can’t count” on a set budget from the university.

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Myers said that growing food to donate to the local nonprofit New Bethany Ministries was “inherent to (the garden’s) goals,” and about 500 pounds of vegetables were donated during some years. And although Jensen said the garden’s dream of selling its food at local farmers’ markets and distributing some food to Sodexo for Lehigh students to eat hasn’t been realized, a new model for the garden’s communal plots to provide food for the larger community has been encouraged.

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Jensen said plots solely intended for local food kitchens became difficult to sustain on their own. Now, gardeners have the ability to share some of their produce that is already being grown with local community organizations. Since an individual gardener is already paying for the plot and working to grow his or her own produce, this approach to support the community is easier to manage. 

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Andrew Conboy, G’20, is one of the few students involved in the community garden. Jensen said it can be difficult for students to participate since many leave for summer break, the prime growing and harvesting season for many types of fruits and vegetables. 

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“At the very least I think gardening is good because you can get outside… it’s good for your mental health and it’s a nice little break,” Conboy said. “But it’s also really cool to watch something grow. If you plant something from seed, you can watch it grow and water it and take care of it and watch it mature and flower, and when it flowers you start to see it impact a bigger ecosystem. You start seeing pollinators and bees, birds coming in… When the plant matures fully, you can collect the seeds and do it next year. I think there’s something special about that.”

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Conboy added that the community garden has already collaborated with Lehigh’s Beekeeping Club, with a hive in the back of the garden, and sees potential for collaboration with Lehigh’s Eco-Reps and Office of Sustainability. 

Though the garden and its gardeners have changed in some ways since Pettigrew worked to secure one acre from the university 10 years ago, two themes remain constant: hard work and community building. Conboy said everyone knows each other at the community garden, and that surplus produce is often shared between all of the gardeners, giving each a chance to learn from one another and try new organic foods. 

“The garden takes a real community effort,” Jensen said. “It’s a community garden in a lot of ways. We build community, we support the greater community and we rely on the community for this to function.” 

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For Myers, the one acre devoted to Lehigh community gardening represents a place of collaboration, of learning and of nurturing a seed into a tangible product. 

“Gardening is hard physical labor, a real labor of love – I’ve been burnt and bitten, but I haven’t regretted a minute of the experience,” she said.