The Hokona Garden will no longer grow on the UNM Campus.
“Our school has the six core fundamental principles, and the sixth one is sustainability. Now they are going to just dig this out,” said student Alex Borowski, who planted the garden in late October.
And just as green sprouts are beginning to burst from the soil, the Physical Plant Department is going to remove them Feb. 1, and will reportedly replace the garden with a water fountain.
Borowski said he thought up the idea for the garden when he came upon the deserted pentagon of dirt in the courtyard of Hokona Hall, where he’s a resident.
“The garden was going well for a long time,” he said. “Before break, we had a layer of leaf mulch to retain the moisture and protect the plants. Towards the end of break, they raked it up. They decided that it was not acceptable to have.”
Representatives from Hokona Hall and the Physical Plant Department declined to comment.
Also, representatives from Residence Life and Student Housing did not return calls Wednesday.
Borowski said the Physical Plant Department administration held a meeting about the garden and were worried about contamination. He was told PPD had plans for the dirt, and they could not have a garden in the public area. The garden’s planters have until Monday to dig up and transplant the vegetables. Soon after, the garden will be torn out.
“I was never informed of the decision directly from the Physical Plant Department,” Borowski said. “I heard from a friend of mine who attends (Residence Hall Association) meetings. It was on the agenda to discuss.”
The plan for the garden is to either cover it or to place a new fountain, Borowski said.
“I think that putting in a fountain is a complete waste of water,” he said. “That water could be used to water this exact garden. It’s just the total opposite direction that we should be going in.”
The Hokona Hall Community Association held a meeting Tuesday night to discuss the garden’s future. However, the Residence Hall Association — which oversees all UNM residence halls — told the Community Association nothing could be done.
“Alex came to us last semester and asked if he could utilize the land. We were all very supportive about it and approved,” Ioan Belovarski, president of the Community Association, said. “But now, the RHA told Alex that he has no say as to what the land goes towards. They are saying that the shrubs around the garden will also be
taken out.”
On Wednesday, Borowski and other students involved in the garden gave tribute to the lost cause. Borowski was joined by Will Thomson and Danielle Stephens, who both helped start the Hokona Garden.
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The group is creating a Lobo Garden Committee with the help of Mary Clark, a sustainability studies program staff member, Thomson said.
“Having this garden would have shown people that it takes time and effort to grow things. I didn’t understand that until I started gardening,” Thomson said. “There are plenty of schools who have community gardens, and I think that it is ridiculous that they are taking that away here.”
The plants in the Hokona Garden will be transplanted on Friday at 1 p.m.
