Sept. 28 marked the turn of St. Olaf Garden Research and Organic Works (STOGROW)’s 20th anniversary through a student-led festival celebration outside the Art Barn.
The STOGROW Farm is around an acre within the natural lands dedicated to sustainable agriculture and organic practices for raising crops. The farm’s intention is to create an inclusive and accessible source for students to learn about agricultural practices.
The design for STOGROW’s farm began in fall 2004, with the debut towards the start of summer 2005. Sophia Tedesco ’26, one of the farmers spearheading the festival, stated that significant networking occurred this summer, including with one of STOGROW’s founders, who made note that it had been 20 years since the beginning of the farm. This led to the idea of both former and current farmers to collaborate for an event on campus surrounding the agricultural community.
The campus event, an anniversary festival, included five other environmental organizations as well as a 45-minute live set from the campus band Folkish.
Bon Appétit used crops from STOGROW’s production to create baked goods, from danishes to bread, to sell to attendees.
The Environmental Coalition, which networks and advocates with recycling and composting, included a sorting activity at their table regarding correct recycling, composting, and landfill options.
Ole Thrift Shop takes clothing donations and resells them to students, with the proceeds from students going to environmental organizations from state to national levels of impact. A bin with purchasable selections was available.
Oles Under the Sun, a club that promotes students engaging physically in nature and being a part of their environment, offered a water bottle cleaning station.
Food Recovery Network (FRN) was also in attendance. FRN works with Bon Appétit for a Stav leftover food recovery system, where volunteers package food to give to local community shelters and organizations that can utilize the food.
“I was excited to talk to a lot of potential volunteers and delivery drivers and a lot of interest in our club,” Kayla McMayer ’26, executive leader of FRN, said. “It [the event] gave us a chance to collaborate with a lot of the other environmental organizations that we regularly coordinate with.”
Tedesco was encouraged by the attendance of the festival. “It was wonderful to see how many people came down to support STOGROW and the environmental org[anization]s STOGROW had connected with to be a part of the event,” Tedesco said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger. “It’s just really heartwarming to see a world where the environment is increasingly more important to think about, [and] to see how much of the student body, beyond the people involved … came to support [the festival] and express that they want to be part of that narrative.”
One of the highlights of the festival was the inclusion of campus community members.
“My favorite parts were the simple things, such as coloring with chalk, because it allowed me to slow down, enjoy the weather, and spend time with my community in the midst of the busy academic year,” Emma Hazen-Disch ’26 said in an interview with The Olaf Messenger.
Tedesco stated that STOGROW is going to great lengths to improve its community involvement, awareness about farm-to-fork mentality, and the consumption mindset society has. With agriculture’s waste in this nation, STOGROW aims to change St. Olaf’s consumption by providing self-sustaining production, as all of the produce that is produced on the farm is given to Bon Appétit and then cooked into food for students.
“Unless you’re a part of the agricultural community in a space, you don’t really see how often farmers are communicating with one another, giving tips and tricks, and providing each other resources,” Tedesco said. “At the end of the day, everyone in the agricultural community is wanting to create an efficient business, as well as care for the environment.”
Support for these environmental organizations include volunteering and/or participating in events on or off campus. Detailed information for joining these organizations can be found on Presence or by contacting students in leadership positions.
