Community-Garden

Author: Xinxue Wang The story began in the spring of 2024. During a casual chat, several members of the Plant Futures club came up with a simple yet moving idea: “Can we build our own garden with our own hands right here on campus?” This idea, like a seed gently falling into everyone’s hearts, quickly sprouted. We turned our attention to the south side of campus—a quiet open space between the IB and WDR buildings. Straddling the line between Phase I and Phase II of the campus, it was originally just a struggling green buffer zone, though some faculty and staff had already quietly started transforming it, planting a few flowers and rows of vegetable seedlings. ...

We are pleased to announce the 2026 Community Garden Steering Committee (CGSC) of Duke Kunshan University! The new committee will officially take over responsibilities starting November 1, 2025. Thank you to all who have supported the garden throughout the past year, and to the outgoing team for their dedication and care. Contact Information: Microsoft Teams: https://tinyurl.com/dku-garden Email: dku-garden@proton.me New Committee Members (2026) Xinyao (Tacia) Gao (高鑫瑶) Responsibility: Student Communication ...

Editor of this issue: Xinxue Wang Growing vegetables is easy; all it takes is sunlight and rain for the seeds to sprout. Growing vegetables is hard; it requires scientific management and labor input to achieve a good harvest. Autumn Sowing Preparation Process Clear the ground of weeds, withered seedlings, and harvested plants; collect them for later composting. After clearing, water thoroughly to aid subsequent tilling. If the soil is already loose, you can skip this step. After a day, deep-till the soil and expose it to the sun for sterilization. 3–5 days before planting, add organic fertilizer (about 250 g per square meter), till to level, break up clumps, and form ridges. 2–3 days before planting, water thoroughly to create soil moisture. If the soil is very dry, repeat 1–2 more times (very important). Autumn Sowing Autumn sowing allows cultivation of various leafy and root vegetables, such as bok choy, greens, crown daisy, broccoli, radish, carrot, cilantro, garlic, and spring onions. ...

Editor of this issue: Xinxue Wang Dear DKU gardener: The hot summer is gradually coming to an end, and it might be a good time to start preparing for autumn sowing. Spending a little time planning now will soon reward you with the joy of a lush and fruitful garden! 🌱 Clearing and Soil Preparation (Recommended to complete by late August) Consider a “Decluttering” Session: It is advisable to remove withered and diseased old plants from the spring and summer seasons, along with weeds, to effectively reduce sources of pests and diseases. ...

Group photo from our trip to Yuefeng Island Organic Farm So here’s the thing about farms: they’re simultaneously exactly what you’d expect and nothing like you imagined. On May 11th, 2025, our DKU community garden crew ventured to Yuefeng Island Organic Farm, which sits beside Yangcheng Lake like a bookish teenager at a school dance: quietly impressive but not making a big deal about it. ...

Mr. Wang Jingkang (second from right) visits Kunshan Duke University’s community garden. Recently, environmental advocate Wang Jingkang toured the DKU Community Garden. We at CGSC seized the chance to sit down for a short interview about his philosophy and hands-on experience in community-garden design. Below is the full transcript. Further reading: Wang Jingkang, “Everyone Is a Designer— Gaia Ecological Construction Inspires Civic Action” https://www.meipian.cn/1xsw99sy ...

Community Garden in May 2025 The Community Garden Steering Committee (CGSC) of Duke Kunshan University (DKU) consists of volunteers responsible for the day-to-day management of the Community Garden. To help garden participants connect with the appropriate CGSC members, here are our introductions. Contact Information: Microsoft Teams: https://tinyurl.com/garden-dku Email: dku-garden@proton.me Committee Members Xing Shi Cai (蔡醒诗) Xing Shi Cai Responsibility: Membership Management I’m an assistant professor of mathematics at DKU and have served as the adviser for the DKU Plant Futures club since 2023. Our club promotes plant-based diets and products to protect the environment and support animal welfare. In 2024, I initiated the restart of the Community Garden at DKU to encourage people to connect with nature and develop gardening skills—abilities that may become increasingly valuable in the future. ...

This is written for the archive of DKU by Xing Shi Cai. The Garden in Jan 2025 As the faculty adviser for Plant Futures since 2023, I’ve had the privilege of working with students passionate about plant-based living and environmental sustainability. In spring 2024, while brainstorming new initiatives for our club, several students with gardening experience proposed an exciting idea: creating a community garden. We discovered there had already been a garden between the IB and WDR buildings, adjacent to the campus’s southern boundary. At the time, only a handful of people were utilizing this space, leaving much of it untended. With optimism and perhaps a touch of naivety, I envisioned a simple approach to starting our community garden: create a grid system using Excel, where each cell represented one square meter of land, and let community members claim their plots. ...