What an awesome place we have to live and learn in on our Agriculture Campus of Aiken. That campus is the creation of many hands
over many hours. It does not take long for the look of negligence to rear its ugly head. That is why our students and program are taking a
more targeted approach to creating a legacy of sustainability through the development of water and food security.

“Water water everywhere nor any drop to drink,” is a line from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem Rime of the Ancient Mariner. In many cases, it can apply to our farm. Water is available an abundant most of the time but if it is not in its useful form…it is useless. Is it dirty, frozen, flooded, or just not available? We are installing more rain water catchments, monitoring water quality, & focusing on providing clean water to our plants & animals at regular intervals as a matter of routine.

As for food, our garden will be soon be overflowing with student-grown produce that will ripen and beg for a person to plate it in their kitchen. If not, it will rot. Food food everywhere nor any bite to eat.

So, our legacy of gleaning gardens, rescuing rainwater, and composting continually begins today with a focus on the future that is not but
a day, a week, a month, a year, and a generation away. Surely, they will be thankful!