Holy Cross partners with Regional Environmental Council to benefit urban garden programs

Not unlike a well-tended vegetable garden, Holy Cross’ partnership with the Regional Environmental Council of Central Massachusetts continues to grow.

On Oct. 26 from 6 to 10 p.m., a Slow Food Gala will take place in the lower dining area in Kimball Hall at Holy Cross to benefit the work of REC’s urban garden programs for youth in Worcester. The event will include a five course meal and a silent auction.

The meal is planned around the Slow Food concept, an international movement dedicated to preserving and supporting traditional ways of growing, producing and preparing food. Marty Dudek, assistant director of dining services at Holy Cross and a member of Slow Food’s Boston chapter, will prepare the meal.

Holy Cross is a strong supporter of REC, which works to build a sustainable urban center in Worcester.

The College is a major sponsor of REC’s Earth Day clean-up program in April. A number of students have worked, interned or volunteered with REC over the past three years, says Catherine Roberts, associate professor of mathematics and director of the environmental studies at the College. Students in Roberts’ classes have also completed many projects that supported various aspects of REC’s mission. In addition to Roberts, several current Holy Cross staff members have served on REC’s board, including Jesse Anderson, director of audio-visual services and Katherine Robertson, special assistant to the president for community affairs. Rev. Michael C. McFarland, president of Holy Cross, is on the host committee for the gala event.

Three students are currently working for REC: Alicia Cianciola ’09, Neil Shea ’09 and Devika Sarin ’08. They will attend the gala and help Roberts run the silent auction at the event.

As part of their work at REC, Cianciola and Shea will grow the seedlings for the YouthGrow and UGROW urban community garden programs. UGROW is a city-wide community gardens program that includes YouthGrow, a summer youth program that employs teens from the city’s low-income communities to maintain organic farms in Worcester. The seedlings are grown in the greenhouse in the biology department.

“I was interested in working for the Regional Environmental Council because it is a great opportunity to be able to grow plants right here on campus and get involved in local activities, which I feel is very important,” says Shea, a biology major with an environmental studies concentration. “UGROW is an outstanding program that also gets the youth of Worcester involved through gardening and I was happy to learn that I could be a part of it just by growing here on campus.”

Shea is proud that Holy Cross is helping sponsor the event.

“The Slow Food Gala will directly benefit the UGROW and YouthGROW programs and it will be a great opportunity to enjoy locally and organically grown foods while getting to know the people involved in the Regional Environmental Council and what they are doing around the community,” says Shea.

Next semester, Shea and Dudek will plant and grow organic seedlings in the greenhouse on top of the O’Neil complex.  The produce will eventually be used in Kimball meals.

REC also has strong academic ties to Holy Cross as a consistent Community-Based Learning site for the College. In fact, Roberts was interested in creating a community-based course that would connect to her environmental math course. Peggy Middaugh, the executive director of REC, “generated loads of interesting and appropriate project ideas right off the top of her head, so it was an instant partnership that has grown over time,” says Roberts, whose interests include environmental justice and environmental advocacy.

“This is a local non-profit group with direct impact on people’s lives,” says Roberts. “They work to make the city of Worcester safer by helping educate people on how to remove toxins from their homes. The mission of REC resonates with the mission of the College — to affect change through local action.”

Related Information:

• Press Release: Slow Food Gala at Holy Cross to Benefit Regional Environmental Council Community Programs • Regional Environmental Council • Community-Based Learning