Yesterday, I had the pleasure of speaking at the Taste of the Garden event to help raise awareness and funding for UNF’s Ogier Gardens. Media Made Fresh was honored to be a partner sponsor of the event.
I had the pleasure of graduating from UNF in 2001. A dear friend and client, Bruce Ogier, asked our company to get involved with the Garden last year. We work closely with agricultural and cannabis farmers and home growers throughout America, and my family takes a special interest in anything related to healthcare and education.
For the last year, we have dug in to help prepare the Ogier Gardens for our community launch and fund raising efforts.
According to the UN, we produce enough food to feed the world, however, 11% of the world went hungry in 2016.
By 2050, with the global population expected to reach 9.8 billion, our food supplies will be under far greater stress. Demand will be 60% higher than it is today, but climate change, urbanization, and soil degradation will have shrunk the availability of land. (There used to be 28” of enriched soils, now we have between 8-12”.)
Add water shortages, pollution, and worsening inequality into the mix and the implications are bad for every community in the world.
While it looks like a simple garden, the Ogier Gardens is a cutting edge program that offers UNF students a chance to minor on food systems and sustainability, grow their own food and be a part of a community. They also teach gardening classes for anyone that wants to learn how to grow their own food, build their own soils, and make herbal teas.
Over the next 10 years, UNF has big plans for the garden. For my contacts that live in Jacksonville, I encourage you to get involved by taking a class, volunteering in the garden, or donating to help fund one of the initiatives. Most of all, help spread the word about the UNF Ogier Gardens.
https://www.unf.edu/recwell/gardens
