Read below for more information, or visit our crowdfunding page at https://uw.useed.net/projects/120/home

 Help us Grow The UW Farm!

We’ve just launched a crowd-funding campaign to raise $9000 to grow the Farm and add much needed infrastructure to make us an even better resource for students and the community.

We are looking to build:

• a new cob oven¹ and shelter for gatherings,
• reusable and portable hoop houses²,
• and a new, conveniently located wash station.

Growing the Farm Budget Breakdown

• Wash Station – $3,960 shelter, $500 2 sinks, 1 used tub, 4 non-slip mats
• Cob Oven – $3,840 shelter, $300 oven
• Portable Hoophouses – $400

Project Objectives:

Community

The site of our current cob oven will be the home of the new Botany Greenhouse and Biology Building, which unfortunately means the demolition of our beloved oven; with your donation, we will be able to build a new cob oven and community gathering space in 2015.

This project is important because:

• Our cob oven at the Botany Greenhouse has been crucial to introducing new students to the UW Farm’s community and work.

• Feeding people farm-grown food cooked in our oven is a powerful way to show that we value building strong connections through eating and quality time together.

• We look forward to joint pizza bakes with Seattle Youth Garden Works and the opportunity for our programs to continue to build a relationship through food and farming. Learn more about SYGW below in Our Partners.

How we will build the oven:

• After the shelter has been built, the UW Farm will host a cob-building workshop. Students of the workshop will learn about building with cob and will build the new UW Farm Cob Oven all at once! Anyone is welcome to attend.

Education

Portable hoophouses will allow us to:

• extend the growing season, givng student farmers hands-on growing opportunities earlier in spring quarter and later into fall quarter;

• grow our educational programing with UW courses and student groups during more of the academic year;

• better grow heat-loving crops such a tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers despite Seattle’s cool summers;
• give more of our great veggies to the students who work on the farm. (we love to feed our volunteers!)

Efficiency and Sustainability

A dedicated space for us to cool, wash, and package our produce immediately after harvest will:

• make our food higher quality and safer;

• make our farm more efficient, eliminating the cumbersome process of moving all of our products from the field to our current washing location;

• and overall make work on the farm more enjoyable to interns and volunteers!

We grow great, tasty, local sustainable veggies, and we want to feed the UW!

Partners

• The Engineers Without Borders (EWB) will be leading in the design, planning, and construction of our projects. This will be an opportunity for real-world design and construction experience for aspiring Engineering students. Look under their “Current Projects” tab to see the work they’re doing at the farm.

• We share our farm site at the Center for Urban Horticulture with Seattle Youth Garden Works. SYGW empowers homeless and underserved youth through garden-based education and employment. We’re excited that this campaign will also be a great benefit to their program.

Grow the Farm!

This is a great opportunity for the farm to grow further into its full potential, and we would like you to be a part of it. Everybody is invited to follow our progress on Facebook, and we will recognize donors proudly through our donors list, on social media. We hope you’ll join us in planting these seeds to Grow the Farm!

“I couldn’t imagine what my year might have been like without farming and all the wonderful people I’ve met through this incredible program in my life. One thing that I love about the farm: every single person who wants to learn about food, discuss issues related to food, or just have a day of hard work is welcome, unconditionally.” —Kate Doughty, Junior