On April 29, the University of Oregon Campus Planning Committee voted unanimously to move the UO Grove Community Garden in light of the East Campus development plans. The new site will be located between Moon Lee Lane and Moss Street and will border the Moss Children’s Center and the UO Northwest Indigenous Language Institute. 

The UO Grove Garden, operated through the Student Sustainability Center, has been in its current location on Moss Street between 17th Avenue and 19th Avenue since 2012 and gives students the opportunity to learn about growing food without being in a designated class.

“Growing food for students is the main thing that holds us together to this day and since I have been here it has been also that we want to teach people… to grow food now and in the future and point to why food needs aren’t met and work to mobilize them to build a better world,” Valentine Bentz, a co-organizer for the Grove Garden, said.

The new site and the previous site are both 8,736 square feet. The relocation will start at the end of fall 2025 and end during the “Spring 2026 growing season,” according to UO. 

“It (the move) is going to be a hard process. We are grateful we have been given a place to move to, but there is a lot of “us” (garden) that will be hard to move,” Bentz said. “We’re going to grow as much food as possible this summer to celebrate this land and what it has given us, and then as that summer season comes to an end, we are going to be getting ready to move.”

Unlike the last location, which was always slated for “temporary usage,” the new location is more permanent, according to UO. Bentz said he is taking these claims of “permanence” with a grain of salt.

“Another 10 years would be epic. Permanence is not in the discussion,” Bentz said.

The current Grove Garden hosts a composting system, garden sheds and bee hives. According to UO, these same “elements” could be available in the new site. Fruit trees are also present in both sites.

Bentz also sees an opportunity for developing infrastructure for more garden education and food harvesting at the garden.

“I’m excited to see how we can build a little more towards food production, like food harvesting infrastructure, because it’s hard to wash produce and get it to students who are not coming to this space,” Bentz said.

During the East Campus developments, the area surrounding the garden will remain open space for at least several years, according to the East Campus development plans. However, concerns about construction debris and noise were brought up at the April meeting.

Emily Eng, director of Campus Planning, said UO would “work with the contractor to help mitigate impacts” of construction debris. Eng mentioned that the staging for the construction of the new residential halls could be moved away from the site. 

One reason why this site was chosen for relocation revolves around community connections. The Children’s Center, Native Indigenous Language Institute, the Longhouse and the Black Cultural Center are all within a block.

Taylor McHolm, the program director of the Student Sustainability Center, and Bentz said the garden hopes to broaden its community reach and connect with these neighbors. 

“We heard from many students that what makes the Grove (Garden) special is that it is set off from campus, and we took that into consideration, and we can’t be connected and respite at the same time, so we reached out to cultural centers,” McHolm said. “There is the opportunity to strengthen these connections with the community benefit(ting) this as a whole.”

Bentz shared a similar opinion.

“I think part of being close to these other campus programs is (that) maybe we can have more resources to provide more structured education and maybe there would be more collaboration with other groups as opposed to us trying to take everything on ourselves,” Bentz said. 

McHolm compared the garden’s relocation to a move from a childhood home. 

“There is an undeniable sense of loss… as much as we are looking forward to moving forward,” McHolm said.