Residential learning communities immerse CALS students in a unique and focused academic experience
& TOGETHER
TO LIVE
LEARN
BY ERIC HAMILTON
The summer vegetables sag in the wake of the first frosts. But the low October sun still warms the fields of the Eagle Heights Community Garden as Devon Hamilton BS’17 and Kristin Fischer BSx’22 walk out to a large plot next to the F.H. King Student Farm on the north end of campus. “Want to dig some carrots, Kristin?” asks Tom Bryan BS’13 MS’15, as they hike up to the plot. “Yeah!” responds Fischer, a first-year resident in the GreenHouse Learning Community. GreenHouse is a residential learning community at UW–Madison dedicated to teaching and living the practice of sustainability in its many forms. The food order for the day: 15 pounds of carrots, 10 pounds of yellow potatoes, 10 pounds of sweet potatoes — and whatever else looks good. Bryan, the greenhouse and garden manager for GreenHouse, is taking the day’s harvest to a University Dining team that will prepare a community meal for residents the following evening. Tending the garden and sharing
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its produce are keystone experiences for GreenHouse residents. Hamilton is preparing to speak at the dinner about his work with the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, where he teaches sustainable growing practices to farmers and educates students about food justice. An alumnus of GreenHouse, Hamilton can also be found around Madison volunteering on local boards, learning to cook soul food, and serving up community meals with the aid of his hardwood charcoal smoker. Since coming to UW–Madison from Los Angeles, Hamilton has carved out a space for himself at the intersection of South Central Los Angeles food culture and southwestern Wisconsin farms, using food and sustainability as a way to connect to his own roots and encourage reflection and action in others. “Trying to make those connections has been an important part of my work,” says Hamilton as he bundles stacks of collard greens, “and also what GreenHouse helped foster within me.”
