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The Ted and Chris Robb Garden will be dedicated at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 4 near the DeMarcus Brown Studio. The garden will be used to grow food for use in the Don and Karen DeRosa University Center and also will be used in class curriculums and as a laboratory.
Ted and Chris Robb Garden Blooms on Campus
New Garden Will Contribute to Sustainable EducationImagine eating fresh fruits and vegetables in the Don and Karen DeRosa University Center that were literally picked from the vine just hours earlier.
This could soon be a reality, thanks to the Ted and Chris Robb Garden, the Stockton campus' new food Garden. It will be dedicated at 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 4 near the DeMarcus Brown Studio. Students, faculty and staff are invited to participate in the dedication ceremony. Seeds will be planted just before the ceremony, and the first harvest is expected in the winter.
The Robb Garden was named in honor of Regent Walter Robb's sons, Ted Robb '02 and Chris Robb '06. A $100,000 gift from Regent and Whole Foods Co-CEO Walter Robb underwrote the garden's construction.
The major mission of the garden is education, said Professor Marc Brunell, faculty director of the garden, and students will learn what a garden is and how a garden is created and managed. In addition, Bon Appétit, Pacific's food service provider, will use fruits and vegetables from the garden for meals on the Stockton campus, as locally grown and consumed fruits and vegetables reduce transportation costs and emissions. Gardeners on the Stockton campus project will not use harmful pesticides and chemicals that can leach into local waterways.
Several Pacific professors plan to integrate the garden into class curriculum and labs. Assistant Sociology Professor Alison Alkon, for instance, hopes to significantly involve her students in the garden's operation to extend their knowledge of food systems, sustainability and issues related to socioeconomic inequalities. Student internships may also be available in the future.
