SPROUT Garden
The Center for Energy & Environmental Education (CEEE) oversees the management and operation of the SPROUT Garden located on the south end of the University of Northern Iowa campus.
SPROUT is an acronym that stands for Student Production, Regional Outreach, and Urban Training.
- History of the SPROUT garden
The SPROUT Garden space was originally established by UNI’s Recycling & Reuse Technology Transfer Center (RRTTC), formerly known as the Creekside Harmony Educational Garden. RRTTC used the garden for training purposes for education students, providing internships and course work surrounding garden education. The closure of the RRTTC in 2023, left the garden without any designated organization to manage it.
The garden's proximity to the CEEE, along with our established programming focused on food access, gardening, and student/AmeriCorps/Volunteer engagement made it logical to transition management of the space to the CEEE. The Center was well positioned to take over and make it a productive resource again for the UNI Community. We began management of the garden in the Spring of 2025.
The SPROUT garden is a resource to support...
Student Production
The garden engages students, AmeriCorps Participants, staff, and volunteers to maintain a portion of the garden as donation plots that would provide locally grown, healthy produce to the UNI Panther Pantry and at a produce pick up station maintained in the CEEE Rotunda. This supports Center goals of increasing food access for students and the Cedar Valley community. All produce is donated or utilized for educational outreach and none of it is for sale or purchase.
Garden Education & Service Learning
The Center has future plans to utilize the space to lead garden education classes for the community as well as collaborative efforts with classes and students on campus. For example, a partnership with the college of education to demonstrate school garden education, gardening 101 workshops for community Participants, and tours and activities for school classes. Summer of 2025 will be used to establish the garden as an educational resource, with the off season spent developing curriculum.
Training & Volunteer Hub
The garden is utilized for training students, community volunteers and AmeriCorps Participants about garden prep, maintenance, and harvesting. Some volunteers will be trained to execute the Center’s Garden in Every Lot program that carries out backyard garden installation to increase food access in our region. Volunteers will have the opportunity to exchange volunteer time for free produce, contribute to strengthening food security for students on campus, or simply log volunteer hours for student honor chords, master garden certification hours, etc.
Demonstration Plots
The Center also has plans to utilize the space for demonstration plots to showcase pollinator habitat, diverse plots of organic lawn mixes, cover crop, etc. to use as an educational tool for visual awareness of alternative ground management practices in support of our environmental health programming, including Good Neighbor Iowa and Farming for Public Health.
Get Involved
The SPROUT Garden is a new project and as the various programs grow (some pun intended!) it will create a variety of opportunities to get involved!
- Volunteer in the Garden
We will need volunteers throughout the Spring, Summer, and Fall to help prep the garden space for effective planting, maintaining beds, harvesting produce, and assisting with distribution efforts with the Panther Pantry & CEEE Produce Pick-Up. We can host individual volunteers, student groups and clubs, organizations, Master Gardeners and more!
Reach out to us at uni-ceee@uni.edu if you're interested in volunteering.- Grab some Veggies
Student production is at the heart of the mission of the SPROUT Garden with the goal of increasing access to healthy, locally sourced produce for UNI Students. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the fruits and veggies available at both the Panther Pantry and the CEEE Produce Pick-up station. Taking and eating what we grow is a great way to be involved! You can learn more about the Panther Pantry by visiting their website and check back later for more information on CEEE Produce Pick-Up hours of operation.
Help us learn more about what kind of produce you’d like to see grown in the garden by completing our Produce Wishlist Survey- Participate in a Workshop or Class
We are excited about the opportunity to utilize the space for garden education classes for the community as well as collaborative efforts with classes and students on campus. Our hope is to make it a resource for all ages in learning about local food, gardening, and hands-on experiential learning. We’re designing gardening for beginner workshops, pick and play garden programs for kids, and hope to collaborate with different Centers, students, and classes on campus to train students on how to use gardens as an educational resource.
We anticipate rolling out education workshops and classes after the summer of 2025. If you are part of a group, class, or student organization that would be interested in partnering with us for a future educational program, please reach out to us at uni-ceee@uni.edu
Contact
You can reach out to us to uni-ceee@uni.edu.