Westmont Gardens Get Fruitful Additions

Volunteers will be planting more than 40 fruit trees, providing a variety of campus-grown produce for Westmont’s dining services. Alumnus Anthony Waldrop ’11 will lead the planting on Friday, Oct. 26, from noon until 3 p.m. at two vegetable gardens he built last spring.

Waldrop, an employee of Sodexo, which provides dining services to Westmont’s Dining Commons, has enlisted the expertise and labor of the Santa Barbara City College environmental horticultural program for the tree planting project. The Westmont College Student Association gave $1,400 for the purchase of guava, avocado, apple, Satsuma mandarin and pomegranate trees as well as kiwifruit vines from Beard Tropics Nursery. Santa Barbara County has donated mulch for the trees. All Around Landscape Supply has also donated materials.

“By putting in perennials, we’re creating a legacy of permaculture at Westmont for years to come,” Waldrop says. “The trees will border the two campus gardens, creating a space where the Westmont community can enjoy the serenity of a diverse landscape. We will also be able to increase the variety of produce that we donate to Bread of Life, a campus meal-sharing program.”

Waldrop is collaborating with Mike Gonella, head of SBCC’s horticultural program, who is bringing his Intro to Horticulture class to Westmont to assist with the planting. “I’m hoping that the garden project can bring together entities on campus as well as in the larger Santa Barbara community,” Waldrop says. “Santa Barbara is such a garden-friendly city that projects such as these provide many opportunities for collaboration.”

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Anthony Waldrop at awaldrop@westmont.edu