Miriam harvests lemon balm from the Hart House plot.
Dig In!: How long have you been involved with dig in! and in what capacity?
Miriam: I’ve been coming along to work days and workshops since I started at UofT in September last year, and I also became a volunteer garden coordinator in the spring.
Dig In!: How long have you lived in toronto?
Miriam: I’ve lived in Toronto for nearly eleven months as an exchange student from the UK.
Dig In!: Why did you get involved with Dig In!?
Miriam: My main interest/concern is the environment and particularly climate change. This has led me to volunteer with Toronto 350.org, which is a group working on climate-related campaigns here in Toronto, including a campaign to ask that the university divest its endowment fund from the fossil fuel industry. More broadly I’m interested in sustainable living, which is why I enjoy volunteering with Dig In and HarvestNoon. I’m also a member of the Hart House Camera Club and have really enjoyed the opportunity to develop my own black and white photographs in the dark room there. UofT has some really great resources and groups and I’ve relished the opportunity to take part in them and get more involved in the university community.
Miriam with her lemon balm harvest.
Dig In!: What is your favourite food?
Miriam: I love eating fresh vegetables, especially when they’re seasonal, like roasted butternut squash in the autumn, or steamed asparagus with melted butter in the spring. But my all-time favourite is avocado, which is unfortunately not remotely local or seasonal in Canada but is absolutely delicious.
Dig In!: What has been your favourite item to grow?
Miriam: I’ve really enjoyed watching the salad leaves like arugula grow over the spring and being able to harvest and eat them immediately in a delicious salad. But the plants that have brought the most joy to my heart are the strawberries, which now have little green babies :). Plants with cool seeds are always fun, too, like calendula or orca beans.
Dig In!: What is your favourite thing about being in the garden?
Miriam: It’s great to be outdoors and using the right side of my brain after spending so many months of the winter cooped up inside of the library. There’s also something about digging in the soil and using my hands to grow food that feels very wholesome and energizing.
Dig In!: How would you describe your garden in 5 words or less?
Miriam: My garden at home: small-to-non-existant, neglected. The Dig In plots at UofT: exciting, inspiring, thriving, lush, and loved.
Tending to the garden.
Dig In!: What is the best memory or experience you’ve had in a garden?
Miriam: I just think it’s great to plant something and watch it grow over time, and I’ve really cherished being able to have that experience at UofT.
Dig In!: If you could have some sort of magical gardening power, what would it be?
Miriam: I don’t know if this counts, but I would just love to have my own plot of land, and be in that place long enough that I could plant food and harvest it year-on-year, making it better and better over time. I don’t think gardening really requires magic powers, just work and time and dedication.
Dig In!: What is the main reason you choose to garden organically?
Miriam: Organic gardening just makes sense to me. It’s about growing food in balance with nature, in a way that encourages biodiversity. By using pesticides and herbicides, we establish dominance over nature, in a way which eventually comes back to harm us, because we’re entirely dependent on nature for our survival. So I think growing organically feels healthier because it’s embedded in a more harmonious experience with nature.
Dig In!: Why do you garden on campus, and why is the significance of gardening on campus for you?
Miriam: Gardening on campus is really accessible, especially for students who often don’t have space and/or time to commit to growing their own gardens, or might not otherwise think of doing so. Gardening on campus is also significant to me because it makes growing food – a process we are very disconnected from, particularly in the city – visible and understandable, and it also helps to foster a sense of community. At a school as big as UofT, I think that’s really important. I really appreciate how anyone can come along and take part in Dig In, and commit as much or as little time as they wish to the project. In that sense, it is a very accessible initiative.
Dig In! Would like to thank Miriam for all her hard work and positive energy that she brought to the gardens, and to wish her the best of luck in the continuation of her education. We will miss you!
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