As Larry Neskey plucks a plump heirloom tomato from where it clings to the vine, he notices a blemish and quickly rubs it away on his shirt. Looking out across the University of Montana’s many grassy pastures divided by concrete walkways, he sees a lost horticultural and educational opportunity.
As the head gardener for UM, Neskey said he imagines the Dining Services Garden as an educational opportunity to be utilized by multiple departments on campus. He said he sees possible transformations all around campus.
For one, growing cut flowers to be used at campus events, he said, would be a great way to cut costs and repair damaged soil.
“I think a university should be progressive in what we do and what we think,” he said. “If we just have Kentucky bluegrass and traditional landscape, then we aren’t creating a very good example of what we learn in class.”
He would also like to see a new, unused space appropriated for horticultural purposes every growing season — exactly what he hopes Dining Services’ new greenhouse will accomplish.
The greenhouse project is a result of a two-part effort by UM Dining Services’ Farm to College program and the UM Foundation Senior Challenge. Voted on by the 2012 senior class, the passive solar greenhouse became the senior class gift.
“We are focused on building a culture of philanthropy here at UM, and this campaign provides a visual for all UM students,” said Tara Udall, the associate director of internal programs at the UM Foundation.
After raising $2,500 for the project, the UM Foundation reached out to the Farm to College program asking to match the amount, to $5,000. Ian Finch, the Farm to College coordinator, then began researching traditional greenhouse designs but could not find a plan to suit the needs of the project.
As a result, he contacted Walter Redfield, whose Missoula-based construction company specializes in green building, about earthbag construction and coordinated the supply of timber from Bad Goat Forest Products. Earthbags are polyurethane-thatched bags that are packed with dirt and used to build walls.
“Bad Goat utilized beetle-killed wood from within 200 miles of Missoula, so the timber frame of the greenhouse has a very low environmental impact,” Finch said.
The greenhouse is just the first of many long-term projects Neskey hopes to work on for the school.
Neskey enrolled in the environmental studies undergrad program as a last minute decision. He soon found inspiration from the Program in Ecological Agriculture and Society Farm and its founder, Josh Slotnick. After taking a mixture of science and environmental studies courses and spending three consecutive semesters interning at the PEAS farm, he knew urban agriculture was his passion.
“He has horticulture in his blood,” Slotnick said. “He has a sense about plants that can’t be explained any other way.”
For an internship with environmental studies professor Vicki Watson just before graduating, he researched and designed a business model for an edible landscaping company in Missoula. Upon graduating last spring and needing to find a job, Slotnick urged him to apply for the head gardener position in the new Dining Services Garden.
Slotnick explained how experimental Neskey can be while utilizing a small area like the raised beds and greenhouse in the Dining Services Garden — something that makes him perfect for the job.
“The cure for the modern world is what Larry is doing,” Slotnick said. “It is revolutionary.”
thomas.bridge@umontana.edu
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