Urban Agriculture
The School of Environmental Sustainability’s Urban Agriculture program offers students hands-on experience building sustainable, equitable, and resilient food systems. The program includes a diverse team of interns, student team leaders, and SES staff working together to produce food using sustainable agriculture methods.
Urban Agriculture Program Update - Fall 2023
Developing leaders in sustainable food systems
Student interns in the Urban Agriculture program learn about all aspects of the program and build knowledge and skills, while more experienced students develop leadership and managerial experience as paid team leaders. Find internship opportunities here or read about the team leader experience here.
Under the leadership of Kevin Erickson, the team grows vegetables in Loyola’s outdoor garden and uses our 3,100-square-foot greenhouse space for food production, research, and education. Students sell produce at local farmers’ markets and donate food through a collaboration with A Just Harvest, a community organization dedicated to fighting poverty and hunger in Chicago.
In addition to providing experience in food production, the Urban Agriculture program supports faculty and student research projects, lab activities, and course-based projects.
While students in any major can get involved, the Urban Agriculture experience particularly complements our bachelor of science program in food systems and sustainable agriculture—the only degree program of its kind in the Chicago area.
Main program areas
Outdoor Production at Winthrop Garden
Students manage an outdoor garden located on Loyola’s Lake Shore Campus. The garden has 40 raised beds, and the team uses the site for annual and perennial crop production, beehives, native bee rearing, drip irrigation, and composting systems. Crops are produced using organic principles, including cover cropping, crop rotation, and fertilizers.
Greenhouse Management
Students develop crop plans for production spaces and learn propagation, seeding, and transplanting methods. They also develop strategies for integrated pest management and plant disease mitigation. Students maintain all indoor planter areas throughout the SES building, including the green living wall adjacent to San Francisco Hall.
Hydroponics
Hydroponics is a plant production method involving growing plants without soil using nutrient-enriched water. The SES greenhouse features hydroponic systems that produce lettuce, kale, and other vegetables.
Aquaponics
The SES facility features two aquaponics systems. Students maintain the systems and troubleshoot issues. Aquaponic systems combine fish production (aquaculture) with hydroponic plant production, with the fish waste providing nutrients to feed the plants.
Mushroom Production
Students lead a mushroom cultivation operation in the SES greenhouse. They participate in all aspects of mushroom production, including inoculation, sterilization, substrate preparation, harvest, and data collection.
Farmers Market
Students develop customer service skills and interact with community members at a weekly farmers’ market. We sell a variety of products produced in our program.
Food Donation
The Urban Agriculture program works with the student organization Food Recovery Network to coordinate donations to A Just Harvest, a neighborhood food pantry. We plan to expand this partnership and increase food donations to serve community members who might not otherwise have access to fresh produce.
Why is this work important?
Environment
Agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Land used for agriculture is also responsible for biodiversity loss as complex ecosystems are converted into monocultures. Furthermore, water use for agriculture is a growing problem as climate change increases the frequency of droughts and water shortages. Through research, education, and practice, we work to develop sustainable food systems that produce healthy food while protecting the environment.
Equity
Our country’s food system is not equitable. Nationally and locally, many people lack access to affordable, healthy, fresh food. In addition, agricultural workers tend to be subject to low pay and harsh working conditions, and many suffer abuse on the job. Our team is committed to building more just and equitable food systems that give everyone access to healthy food, treat workers treat workers fairly, and empower people to grow their own food.
Intern projects
Students interns explore their interests, build valuable skills, and contribute to program operations by leading a variety of projects. See the list below for examples.
Examples of Intern Projects
- Beekeeping: Students worked on honeybee hive preparation and design.
- Native bees: Students reared leafcutter and mason bees as native pollinator options.
- Pest management: Students observed pests and found sustainable management solutions.
- Mushroom cultivation design: Students developed plans to expand campus mushroom operations.
- Fish health and well-being: Students developed protocols for observing fish behavior and methods of increasing activity to limit stressors.
- New garden proposal: Students worked to find new spaces on campus for future food production and developed a site plan incorporating light access and a crop plan.
- Crop planning: Students participated in data analysis of our crop production and revenue data to optimize production space.
- Automated water sensors: Students developed an automated water sensor system to collect data for our aquaponics system, including pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen.
- Plastics reduction: Students observed plastic use in the program and developed a list of alternatives with comparisons.
- DIY fish food: Students developed a method to produce fish food using ingredients grown on-site.
- Energy auditing: Students collected data on energy use in our systems and looked for ways to reduce energy.
- Aeroponics: Students developed a plant production system using atomized mist to deliver fertilizer water to plants, drastically reducing water use.
- Light energy management: Students learned about light quality and how to measure it.
- Mushroom production using waste inputs: Several students have developed projects using waste inputs for mushroom cultivation.
- Fish waste fertilizer: A student developed a project to process fish waste into valuable fertilizer.
- Food Safety: A project team developed a protocol for Good Agriculture Practices food safety guidelines.
Career opportunities
The Urban Agriculture program prepares students for a wide variety of careers. Alums have gone on to work in jobs such as:
- Food distributor/sales manager
- Farmers market manager
- Hydroponics system design specialist
- Hydroponic production manager
- Rooftop production manager
- Winemaker
- Cannabis cultivation
- Livestock farm manager
- Flower farmer
- Greenhouse manager
- Mushroom production manager
- Mycology researcher
- Youth program educator
- Lab technician
- Aquatic ecologist
Why is this work important?
Environment
Agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Land used for agriculture is also responsible for biodiversity loss as complex ecosystems are converted into monocultures. Furthermore, water use for agriculture is a growing problem as climate change increases the frequency of droughts and water shortages. Through research, education, and practice, we work to develop sustainable food systems that produce healthy food while protecting the environment.
Equity
Our country’s food system is not equitable. Nationally and locally, many people lack access to affordable, healthy, fresh food. In addition, agricultural workers tend to be subject to low pay and harsh working conditions, and many suffer abuse on the job. Our team is committed to building more just and equitable food systems that give everyone access to healthy food, treat workers treat workers fairly, and empower people to grow their own food.
Intern projects
Students interns explore their interests, build valuable skills, and contribute to program operations by leading a variety of projects. See the list below for examples.
Career opportunities
The Urban Agriculture program prepares students for a wide variety of careers. Alums have gone on to work in jobs such as:
- Food distributor/sales manager
- Farmers market manager
- Hydroponics system design specialist
- Hydroponic production manager
- Rooftop production manager
- Winemaker
- Cannabis cultivation
- Livestock farm manager
- Flower farmer
- Greenhouse manager
- Mushroom production manager
- Mycology researcher
- Youth program educator
- Lab technician
- Aquatic ecologist