Student Mary Gorsek Is the First to Earn UC s Urban Agriculture Certificate

City living in Cincinnati now includes growing peaches, apples, tomatoes and more in urban community gardens.

As part of earning her certificate in urban agriculture, Mary Gorsek has learned how to do just that – grow these food items within an urban setting. And as part of that experience, the 22-year-old Cleveland, Ohio, native who is the first to earn UC’s

urban agriculture certificate

, says she’s also seen how much urban community gardens can also help neighborhoods and individuals – especially young people – thrive.

She says, “The urban agriculture coursework was really great for me because it enabled me to see how versatile urban agriculture is. A lot of spaces – reclaimed vacant lots, backyards and other spaces too – can actually help up to grow our own food and continue the shift toward locally produced food and goods of all kinds.”

From focusing on growing food, Gorsek also came to focus on how urban agriculture can build up individuals and entire communities.

And, in fact, while completing her certificate in urban agriculture in UC’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP), Gorsek decided to major in

sociology

in the McMicken College of Arts & Sciences because of the strong connection she was able to see between urban gardening and its role in feeding a larger sense of community.

Gorsek first became interested in urban agriculture began when she was an AmeriCorps volunteer. She recalls, “During my service, I spent many hours in community gardens, and I learned how empowering it was to eat the food you grew yourself. There is a great sense of autonomy growing your own food and also celebrating it with other people. So, I really wanted to learn more about growing food in cities, which is why I came to UC, first as a horticulture major.”

And while pursuing her studies here first in horticulture and now in sociology too, Gorsek worked locally with

Permaganic Youth Eco-Garden

in Over-the-Rhine, a non-profit urban garden that also provides employment for local youth. That work not only taught her a lot about urban agriculture but about other benefits urban gardening can bring: “I have not only learned how to grow food like peaches, tomatoes, greens and apples in a city but have realized how beneficial the garden is to youth that work there and how much the youth contribute to the garden.”

Of course, both the agriculture and community-building lessons came at a cost: hard work. Gorsek readily admits that urban agriculture is labor intensive, but just as quickly adds that if you’re willing to put in that work, successful results are very quick to follow, as are home-grown fruits and vegetables.

And after she graduates in December 2014, Gorsek hopes to continue working with youth in urban gardening endeavors. She states, “Wherever I go, I hope to build a strong sense of community by growing our own food and becoming more self sufficient and reliant on one another within a community. I think that if communities start to nurture a space around the idea of local food and autonomy, we have a lot of potential to be more self sufficient and to learn from one another.”

• Find out more about UC’s certificate in urban agriculture.