Wittenberg University

Wittenberg University, located in Springfield, Ohio, is very excited to announce their 2010 OCC AmeriCorps*VISTA Summer Associates, Branden Fugate and Nicole Niese.

The goal of Wittenberg’s Summer Associate program is to expand the capacity and scale of the Grand Avenue South Neighborhood Garden, a joint endeavor of Clark County Community Habitat for Humanity and Wittenberg University in the spring of 2010.

The need and opportunity for this neighborhood garden arose when the City of Springfield received a Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP 1) Grant to improve housing in the urban neighborhood. In addition to building 16 new homes in the neighborhood over the next three years, Habitat hopes to develop a community within the neighborhood that recruits, encourages, and supports its residents. The garden seeks to promote revitalization and stabilization through providing social, educational and recreational opportunities within the neighborhood, and encourage production of nutritious food through urban agriculture. In addition, the community garden was recently selected as a judging site for the city’s participation in the national America in Bloom contest.

Branden and Nicole will vital to the success of this year’s garden. Working with VISTAs Stephanie Rines and Rob Fellows (Garden Coordinators) the Summer Associates will focus on maintenance, community outreach and sustainability planning for the garden. Much of the food grown at the garden will be donated to a local food pantry and given to neigborhood residents.

Branden and Nicole are both rising seniors at Wittenberg. Branden, an English major, has a passion for gardening in addition to his landscaping experience. As a biology major, Nicole recently spent a semester studying at the Duke Marine Laboratory in Beaufort, North Carolina. While in North Carolina, she helped build and plant a community garden and explored various square foot gardening techniques.

Wittenberg thanks OCC for the opportunity to participate in the 2010 Summer Associate Program and looks forward to a productive summer!