Students Explore Sustainable Urban Farming at Oakland Campus

OAKLAND, Calif. — Northeastern’s Oakland campus has been described in many ways: green, lush, stately. But the word that comes up most often is “oasis.”

And there’s no more vibrant or fertile spot on campus than the university’s Community Farm, a 2.5-acre hillside of fruit trees, vegetables, herbs and flowers that sits at the front gate of campus.

Students at Castlemont High School in East Oakland also know a thing or two about urban farming. They built their own oasis — a 1-plus acre organic garden with multiple greenhouses, outdoor kitchen and a recently erected chicken coop — on land that used to be a vacant lot a decade ago and now connects to their campus.

Last week, 28 sophomores from the Sustainable Urban Design Academy at Castlemont High toured Northeastern’s farm, campus and cafeteria. The daylong field trip included discussions with Northeastern faculty and staff about the importance of sustainable urban design, food systems and ecological justice.

“These intrepid, wise and thoughtful scholars from Castlemont asked critical questions about our food systems and sustainability practices as they work to build an urban farm-to-fork food system at their own school,” said Cliff Lee, professor of Art, Design and Education at Northeastern, who helped organize the event. 

The East Oakland high school students are modeling the principles of experiential learning that Northeastern prides itself on, Lee said.

And it was a beautiful day to be on the farm.