MARQUETTE, Mich. – Northern Michigan University has broken ground on a new sustainability lab behind Woodland Park Apartments, a project designed to promote food security, environmental education, and community collaboration.
The outdoor facility will include raised growing beds and two hoop greenhouses, providing space for students, faculty, and community members to experiment with sustainable agriculture and innovative growing techniques.
“It’ll be a site for experimenting, a site for learning, a site for teaching, and really a site for growing—growing great food and growing good ideas,” said Jes Thompson, NMU’s assistant vice president for sustainability.
In addition to serving as a teaching and research facility, the lab is expected to significantly expand NMU’s ability to supply fresh produce to its student food pantry.
“We’re hoping that we’ll be able to triple the amount of food that we provide to the university’s food pantry,” Thompson said. “Providing more students with local, fresh, organically grown food from right here on campus.”
Thompson noted that the site’s flexible design allows for future growth and community engagement, calling it an “open invitation” for students, faculty, and the public to contribute ideas.
“We’re technically a food desert,” she said. “Figuring out how to grow more food locally and feed more people with things that are grown right here, haven’t traveled, and are super fresh, is important—not just for our campus, but it’s part of a state of Michigan ‘hunger-free campus’ pilot program.”
Construction is expected to continue into the fall, with programming and planting beginning shortly thereafter.
