Campus Gardens

campusgardens

The UWM Food & Garden Club & The Office of Sustainability brought campus gardens back to UWM after more than a 60-year hiatus. On Friday, May 27th, 2011, volunteers from across campus came together and built 50 raised bed gardens on the Physics south lawn. Victory gardens sprouted around the grounds during World War I and II. Today they are part of an effort to reduce the “food mile” and share sustainability beyond the kilowatt hour. Gardens at UWM serve individual gardeners, UWM Restaurant Operations, a shared community garden, as well as student curriculum and research.

Sign up for the Student Supporting Agriculture Program today! 

The Student Supporting Agriculture Program provides students an opportunity to volunteer in the UWM gardens, grow food, support other students, and learn all year round. If you are interest in learning more, sign-up today!

Physics Gardens

The raised beds along Kenwood Boulevard were designed for individual students, faculty, and staff to garden as they see fit.  UWM volunteers built the raised beds and continue to fill them with compost. Donations of material and time have made the gardens possible, along with registration fees for the individual plots.  Gardeners may renew their plots from year to year, and new gardeners come on board around April 1st.  This garden site also serves the Conservation and Environmental Science’s permaculture curriculum.

If you are a new gardener interested in garden plot, please complete our interest form. There is currently a waitlist, and we cannot guarantee garden plot availability.

Sandburg Gardens

From a collaborative student design, the second campus garden was built in the spring of 2012.  These gardens serve several functions and are located next to the Sandburg East Tower .  The raised beds are communal and perennial; focused on sharing fresh produce with the campus as well as a community homeless kitchen.  Parallel to these gardens is garden space maintained by UWM Restaurant Operations.  This produce is used directly in the Sandburg kitchens upstairs.  The campus hoop house was later added to this site where UWM’s on-site composting takes place.  Extensive stormwater green infrastructure was also developed, which now supplies the entire site with rain water for irrigation.

UWM Food and Garden Club

The UW-Milwaukee Food & Garden Club began during the fall semester of 2010, in conjunction with the Food for Thought program. Spearheaded by the Office of Sustainability at UWM, the Food & Garden Club is comprised of students, faculty, and staff. The group meets regularly in the spring for garden planning and sharing.  In addition, informal workshops and harvest festivals are held by the Food and Garden Club throughout the year to bring gardeners together in learning and celebration.

To be added to the UWM Food and Garden Club email list, please send your request to Lindsay Frost, lgfrost@uwm.edu.

UWM Food & Garden Club Mission

To develop & maintain campus gardens that provide access for UWM students, staff, and faculty

  • to grow healthy, affordable, local produce
  • to teach the skills and share the joys of food gardening and healthy eating
  • to cultivate sustainability in lifestyles and the campus environment

To be added to the UWM Food and Garden Club email list, please send your request to Lindsay Frost at lgfrost@uwm.edu.

Adopt-A-Garden Campaign
In 2024, we have the goal of rebuilding the community gardens on campus. Help us achieve our goal and support a healthy, vibrant campus through our “Adopt-A-Garden” program.