Green Thumbs at Princeton

Students at Princeton University are using their green thumbs to promote environmental awareness.

As part of the Garden Project, a student effort supervised by the Office of Sustainability, they are spending the summer tending a 12-by-55-foot garden where they grow organic salad greens, tomatoes, rosemary, sage, and other herbs, flowers, and vegetables.

In addition to planting and eating what they grow, the students want to plant ideas. They hope the garden will become a gathering place that encourages conversation about sustainability, climate change, and food choice.

Forbes College, one of six residential colleges that house all freshmen and sophomores at Princeton, provided space for the garden and some start-up money. The Office of Sustainability sponsored part-time work at the garden this summer, and the Princeton Environmental Institute sponsored two summer internships. —Beth Quill