Interviewing Matt Carroll and Matt Lapento

The group ventured into the dining hall to interview Matt Carroll, head of Sodexo dining services, and executive chef, Matt Lapento. The sound was not that great due to the fact that we went just after lunch and there was a lot of clanking of dishes and silverware, but we did manage to get some good information regarding both the harvest and the biodigester. Matt Carrol talked about the early stages of the garden while Matt Lapento talked more about the harvest that the dining halls receives from the garden.

Visiting the Legacy Garden

On March 23, Noe and I visited Julie Welch in the Legacy Garden. She shared a lot of background information on the Legacy Garden which was quite interesting. One thing I learned is that the gardening beds are made out of old McKeon Pavillion bleachers. Pretty cool. Also, that the Legacy Garden is a sustainable garden, not to be confused with organic. (We were called out & kindly corrected.) There are many more regulations for an organic garden like organic seeds, organic fertilizer, etc., which St. Mary's does not use. She also showed us the greenhouse which allows plants a better environment to grow.

Legacy Lettuce!

Our group had the opportunity to observe Julie Welch, garden steward, and student volunteers harvest some of the spring crop including lettuce, snow peas and calendulas