This series explores how the Iowa State community and its members prioritize sustainability as they interact with resources such as land, water and electricity. ‘Sustainable steps: A look at green efforts in the Iowa State community’ is a collaborative project between the Greenlee School of Journalism depth reporting class and the Iowa State Daily.

More than 5,000 students are enrolled to get their undergraduate degree from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State, making it one of the largest programs nationwide. But, what many people do not know is even on campus students practice their knowledge with the Good Earth Student Farm. The College of Agriculture and Life Science provides good farmland to students to practice with real life situations.

Laura Irish, graduate student in horticulture is an active member of Good Earth Student Farm’s executive board. Although studying horticulture excites her, she is more eager to begin the next steps in her life. She is preparing to take on a career where she will take her knowledge, help people and do something beyond just herself … this task is bringing horticulture and agriculture to urban areas.

“Horticulture keeps you in the science, but sustainable agriculture teaches more about social aspects of it,” Irish said. “And that’s the cool part about it: when it impacts people’s lives.”

Good Earth Student Farm is a sustainable and organic, student-run farm on the Iowa State campus. The farm is about two acres in size and is run by undergraduate and graduate students, as well as members of the Ames community.

Irish does not come from a typical farming background. She grew up in the suburbs of Chicago in an area where not many people knew about agriculture and its importance. The one thing that made her family stand out from her neighbors was her parent’s love of gardening.

“I grew up loving food,” Irish said. “My parents were always growing veggies and ornamentals, but the thought of farming and doing it for a living never crossed my mind.”

Although this drove her passion, it didn’t give Irish that push to pursue horticulture and agriculture initially.

“My dad actually wanted me to study engineering because he’s an engineer,” Irish said. “My parents were very confused about my career path, and I think still are. I mean my brother’s a doctor. They didn’t understand what a horticulturist does.”

After graduating high school, Irish’s mind began to wander and so did she. She studied environmental science in Illinois, took a gap year, moved to Iowa City and then finally found herself packing up and heading to Ames. Once settled into Iowa State, she found her niche and began studying agricultural education.

Although Irish began studying agricultural education here at Iowa State, Irish was not satisfied with the structure of the program. Students planning to study agriculture and horticulture to teach it to students of any age take one introductory course. The introductory agriculture education course is to prepare students for a lifetime career in education, but Irish felt it was not enough.

“I care about sustainable systems and the agriculture of horticulture,” Irish said. “One course is not going to teach me everything I need to know to teach people about this, so that was when I joined the Good Earth Student Farm.”

Irish said she is someone with big dreams. She wants to work somewhere larger than Ames, hopefully with 100,000 to 300,000 people, a greater diversity of people and a more urban setting.

“I think it’s important to acknowledge other people and their differences,” Irish said. “If you can connect youth with food relevant to them, you can essentially bring them closer together.”

The process all depends on where Irish goes. She said she would be open to any type of young people in any type of community. From at risk youth, to public youth systems, to Boys & Girls Clubs, Irish is open to any and everything. The next step would be beginning the garden. Irish said amending soils and irrigation could get expensive, so if she gets to work in a more urban community, that could be a challenge.

“There are so many questions and conflicts I could be faced with,” Irish said. “I would need to promote the garden to the youth and the community, hold informational meetings and give nutritional education sessions, but it all comes back to trust.”

Rejoining a community unaware of therapeutic horticulture and establishing that trust between her and the community are Irish’s biggest fears at the moment. Building connections throughout a community could and most likely would take time. Beyond that, simple trust between the youth and their parents is worrisome for Irish, but she is ready for any challenges she could face.

“I believe rural communities and suburban communities have exposure to agriculture and nice gardens, but if you go more urban, you see less and less of home gardens and farms,” Irish said. “Youth need to be exposed to that for a successful future.”

Irish’s decision to do this didn’t come over night. She has faced a lot of hardship in her life. Both success and failure have brought her to where she is today, and she feels young people should have that kind of exposure as well.

“I’ve helped myself get through these hard things through gardening,” Irish said. “Watching it from seed to harvest is really empowering to me. It changed me. None of my friends have done that beyond egg carton plants, you know?”

Irish believes targeting urban communities can help those young people pursue a career as well as take an interest in the food they’re ingesting. Beyond just that, it’s not just about the farming and eating aspect. It is about growing as individuals.

“If you can become invested in your food, you’ll be empowered in it and care about this one thing and work through it, just like your problems and barriers,” Irish said.  “If we can at least start somewhere, we can change how food is grown in our society and change our society as a whole.”