Arctic Gardens: UAF students learning to grow for themselves

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTUU/KTVF) - The Reindeer Learning Gardens at the University of Alaska Fairbanks teaches students and community members how to successfully cultivate plants in the Interior.

Mallory Smith, Garden Manager with the Alaska Harvest Collaborative, which runs the garden, listed a variety of different plants being grown in the space, including carrots, potatoes, herbs, snap peas, squash and much more.

In the generally warmer conditions surrounding the garden, plants such as cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants and peppers tend to thrive

According to Smith, the endeavor began during the COVID-19 pandemic, when students sought to learn how to grow their own food through collaboration with the Georgeson Botanical Garden.

Students now go through the university’s Office of Sustainability to access the learning program at no cost.

“We meet twice a week throughout the summer, and you can just jump in and take some veggies home and learn how to grow them in our climate,” Smith said, adding that the program, which currently holds about 10-15 students, starts for some as early as April, picking up when the school year ends in late May, and wrapping up toward the end of August depending on the weather.

Some of the hands-on skills taught include planting, harvesting, watering and weeding.

“Soil health is, is very key. If your soil is happy, if you have a harmonious microbiome... your plants will benefit from that,” Smith said.

Meanwhile, the garden also hosts a $40 workshop for 10-15 members of the public once a month during the summer, which covers growing and harvesting plants in a northern climate.

The food that is grown goes to a variety of places, including a donation-based stand at the botanical garden’s weekly Music in the Garden event and nonprofit organizations like the Fairbanks Community Food Bank, Interior Alaska Center for Non-Violent Living and Bread Line, Inc.

Before becoming a garden, the area served as a reindeer pen.

In the future, Smith would like to see an accredited course develop around the program.

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