OU prof will use Fulbright to help develop home-gardening project

David H. Holben, Ohio University professor of nutrition and dietetics in the College of Health and Human Services, recently received a Fulbright Canada Eco-Leadership Program Grant that will support his ECOhio Garden Project in Athens.

His project was chosen from about 50 applications from current and former Fulbright award recipients, according to a news release. The Fulbright Canada Eco-Leadership program, which is primarily supported by the U.S. State Department and the Building the Fulbright Future program, provides grantees micro-grants of up to $4,000 for sustainable projects that rely entirely on volunteers, have established community partners, and have a long-term impact on the local environment.

"I am so honored to receive one of these grants," Holben, a former Canada-U.S. Fulbright Scholar, stated in the release. "I wanted to apply so that I could assist in helping to develop a healthy, local food system in Athens. Many individuals in the region do not have access to enough food for an active, healthy life, especially in the current economic crisis."

Holben's ECOhio Garden Project will provide hands-on gardening training and promote other sustainable activities in the community that will contribute to developing a healthy local food system, the release said.

"The underlying principle of the project is that everyone can learn to garden produce, improve their food access and to enhance the nutrient density of their diet," Holben said in the release.

Holben's project has several steps: First, a free half-day organic gardening workshop will be held on April 1 for the local community. Speakers will include master gardeners, university faculty and personnel from several community-based organizations, including Community Food Initiatives. Attendees will learn gardening skills that will enable them to create gardens in their backyards, patios and community space. Inquiries about the workshop should be sent to ecohiogarden@gmail.com.

Second, participants in the gardening workshop, as well as community volunteers, will be asked to apply their gardening skills in the planting and upkeep of a community garden plot at the Athens Community Garden on West State Street in Athens, with dietetics and nutrition students at OU being the primary caretakers of the plot. Participants also will have a chance to plant fruit trees and shrubs at various local sites. A few of these locations are the West Side Community Garden, the OU Child Development Center's Children's Garden and the OU Ecohouse on Dairy Lane.

Third, the project will provide printed and online maps of edible fruit trees and shrubs on municipal land in the Athens area. The map portion of the project, a collaboration with OU Environmental Studies, will include information about the proper seasons to pick and eat the fruit, according to the news release.

University partners in the ECOhio Garden project include the Student Dietetic and Nutrition Association, Child Development Center, Environmental Studies, Office of Sustainability, and the Leadership Center. Other partners include the Athens County Extension Office and the Athens Bike Path Committee.