The history of the Bowdoin Organic Garden is a story of people and commitment.  Inspired by the garden program started at Yale University in 2003, a group of Bowdoin students came together to plan a similar program in Brunswick.   Elliott Wright ’04, Tristan Noyes ’05, Joel Cartwright ’06, Lauren Withey ’06, Liz Hoering “06, Rose Kent ’06, and Laurel Jones '06 dug and planted their first plot in 2004, using field space at Crystal Spring Farm, but saw immediately that a more structured approach was needed to ensure the long term viability of the initiative.

The students contacted members of the faculty, college sustainability staff, and Dining Services to discuss the importance of the garden as a symbol of the college’s commitment to sustainability and the need to tie it more closely to the college.  Dining Service agreed to give it an institutional home and provide administrative support in exchange for produce from the garden.  

The first garden manager, Katherine Creswell, was hired in 2005.  Katherine consulted with the Dining staff on their needs and planted a wide variety of vegetables, herbs and fruits, including salad greens, braising greens, herbs, endive, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, cabbage and dried beans. During the early years, the garden moved around various locations at Crystal Spring Farm while Katherine worked steadily towards organic certification from MOFGA, which was achieved in 2007. In 2008, two unused college-owned parcels on South Street went into production, right down the street from both dining hall kitchens. The garden staff at the time consisted of Katherine and a summer student garden intern. In 2009, Katherine took a two-year hiatus and was replaced by Tristan Williams.  She returned in 2011.

In 2011, Dining hired a full-time seasonal garden assistant and Katherine added half an acre at Wolfe's Neck farm that she planted with wheat, winter squash and allium.  In 2012, the workload was robust enough that a second student was added to the crew in the summer.  At that point, the garden was supplying produce continuously from May to October.  Katherine also began tapping campus maples and producing Bowdoin maple syrup

Katherine left the garden again in 2012 and was replaced by Sara Cawthon who oversaw the planning for a new garden location at 52 Harpswell Road.  This garden would become the main plot and allow us to concentrate our efforts on the two on-campus locations.  Sara was with us for three seasons, leaving in 2012.

Sara recommended Jeremy Tardif, who she knew from her time at Chewonki.  Jeremy brought strong gardening skills. He was also an arborist so was able to do some important pruning around the garden, and was great at building garden infrastructure.  Jeremy has worked to develop the property at 52 Harpswell, installing drip irrigation, constructing raised beds, a hoop house and greenhouse.  Jeremy has also been particularly oriented towards student outreach and has organized many student events.

The garden is a very lovely manifestation of Bowdoin’s commitment to the environment from which we continue to gain insights.  It has affected many lives, not least of whom are the 19 student summer interns who have contributed so much effort to the project since 2006.  Invariably, they start the season with the stress of academics and young adulthood and end it with an appreciation of hard, physical work, some incredible life skills, and the joy of harvesting and eating something that they themselves planted.