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FEAST’s doors are open 24/7 to all members of the ����TV and wider communities to volunteer, learn, and enjoy nature! Please stop by and say hi, we love visitors! We also have an and a if you're interested in supporting us! Anything is greatly appreciated <3

Fall 2024 Drop-In Hours Schedule 

Stop by our drop-in hours with the FEAST teams if you have questions, want to volunteer, or even just want to hang out! All groups meet at the Bruce Steele Garden at the beginning of drop-in hours. Email feast@oxy.edu or DM us on Instragram @oxy.feast.garden if you have any questions! If you're interested in becoming a chicken volunteer or have ideas for the garden, stop by the Outreach Team's hours or get in touch with us!

• Bruce Steele Garden Team: Thursdays 9:30-11:30am
• Compost Team: Tuesdays 4-6pm and Fridays 3-5pm 
• Native Restoration Team: Fridays 12pm-2pm
• Communications/Outreach Team: Thursdays 5-6pm

 

History

In the spring of 2009, a group of students petitioned the administration for a site on Occidental’s campus to start a student-run organic garden. With an incredible amount of hard work and the unending guidance of facilities workers Bruce Steele and Mark Vallianatos, among many others, we built our first compost pile using pre-consumer food scraps from the Marketplace and clippings from facilities March 15th, 2009. Compost operations continued for the remainder of the semester and that summer, a group of students put in raised beds, broke ground and began planting. The first harvest came in August with patty-pan squash, peas, chard and kale.

Core Values

Sustainability          Diversity          Equity          Community          Education          Respect

Bruce Steele Garden Team

We works primarily in the organic garden on ����TV’s campus. We are committed to learning about and executing sustainable growing practices in order to explore our relationship with the human community and our other-than-human community. We currently have 18 permanent raised beds and a greenhouse in which we propagate and grow the majority of our vegetables and herbs. We engage the student and local communities through hosting farmers markets, FEAST feasts, and enriching volunteer opportunities.

Compost Team

We value the tail end of the life cycle and give back to the land and community through the recycling process of nutrients and food waste. We seek to close the end of the food system, rather than “wasting” food scraps. Not only does this take pressure off municipal waste systems, but it improves soil microbial diversity, feeds the chickens, and creates nutrient dense products for our garden and the community alike. We value resourcefulness, creativity, and ecological resilience. One man’s trash (or food scraps) is FEAST's treasure! 

Native Restoration Team

The Native Restoration Team is working to create and tend to native plant ecosystems on ����TV’s campus capable of outcompeting invasive species and thriving without water. These spaces attract birds, bees, and other pollinators, increase our water and maintenance efficiency, and provide striking natural beauty that can be appreciated by all ����TV students. Most of our efforts are concentrated on the hillside of Fiji, where we have already cultivated a diverse system of native plants that we look forward to developing further. We are also tending to native plant gardens adjacent to Norris and Pauley Halls.

 

Calendar Events

Most recent updates are posted on here on our social media.

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• Email feast@oxy.edu to join our mailing list. You'll be the first to hear about the garden's workshops and events, held multiple times each month! 
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Please contact Rosa Romero for any questions re: FEAST or Bruce Steele Garden:

Email: rromero@oxy.edu
Phone: (323) 341-4806