The boarding house now has a garden! 

Founded by Beeno Yue (‘27) and article co-author Christoper Li (‘27), the plot was developed in spring 2025 with three planter boxes installed near Harker Hall’s porch. Since then, students have grown many different types of vegetables, including kale, arugula, lettuce, and bok choy. 

While the boarding house breakfast regularly provides typical breakfast staples such as eggs, milk, and bread, a couple of boarders noticed they weren’t getting enough green vegetables at breakfast and took the initiative to improve their community’s nutrition. For Beeno, the garden was the perfect opportunity for the boarders to address those concerns through a practical, communal project.

“I do a lot of [environmental] volunteering, so after I heard the complaints from some boarders about the minimal vegetables, me and Chris thought it’d be fun to build a garden,” Beeno explained. 

In the midst of autumn when temperatures are falling, the students are preparing to harvest any remaining crops before replanting in the spring. From their crop cultivation this year, their plans for next spring are expanding beyond just vegetable growing. 

“We sometimes had too many [vegetables], so we’re going to have one plot just for flowers,” Beeno said. 

The proposal would add a decorative element to the garden and reduce leftover crops. The two founders look forward to bringing more colour to the Harker Hall grounds.

As the next growing season approaches, the three planter boxes remain a small but distinctive feature of the boarding house.