Brewing new realiteas at Loyola

 

Herbal and medicinal tea seedlings are sprouting behind Hingston Hall. It may seem an unlikely place to find organic mint, lemon balm and chamomile taking root, but human environment grads Lennard Fruehling and Graham Calder saw the potential.

“It’s been sitting there for years collecting dust. We decided to plant some seeds and let them grow,” Calder says.

Phase one of the Loyola Farm Project is now underway. Calder, an expert in permaculture, also known as sustainable land use design, has been gardening since “before he could walk.” Calder and Fruehling are overseeing the project with help from Concordia Food Systems volunteers.

When they aren’t building raised beds or planting new growth, they have been offering workshops on brewing fertilizer, no-dig gardens and sustainable techniques. Despite a major setback when an outside company cut a poplar down over the bed, damaging much of the garden, the team is moving ahead and should be steeping fragrant leaves in no time.

For details or to get involved, email Graham Calder.