Chatham University has received grants from the J.B. Finley Charitable Trust through the PNC Charitable Trust Grant Review Committee and the Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation totaling $35,000 to support infrastructure initiatives relating to sustainable agriculture at Eden Hall Campus.

The grants, $20,000 from the J.B. Finley Charitable Trust through the PNC Charitable Trust Grant Review Committee and $15,000 from the Snee-Reinhardt Charitable Foundation, will support the development of the 5-acre organic farm at Eden Hall, which is the future home of Chatham’s School of Sustainability and the Environment.

Funds from the J.B. Finley Charitable Trust through the PNC Charitable Trust Grant Review Committee will primarily support the construction of a deer fence, and the Snee-Reinhardt grant will fund a moveable Gothic-style High Tunnel Greenhouse. The combined funds will provide the means necessary for Chatham to develop a four-season farm on which to plant crops that will be used in food studies and sustainability courses in the 2012-13 school year.

By the 2013-14 school year, Chatham plans to implement the student-run teaching garden as well as develop plots for more complex projects such as compost, permaculture, vermiculture, and a heritage fruit tree orchard.

As the farm continues to develop, it will be both an academic resource as well as a community resource and will be able to accommodate farm-to-school programs and partnerships with local community food banks.

8/6/2012