Meet the Reims campus gardeners

Today, more than 50 percent of the world’s population lives in cities. Reason enough for the student association Sciences Po Environment to make urban agriculture one of its main focuses.

In January 2017, the Reims campus branch of Sciences Po Environment launched Sciences Potager, a project to plant and maintain a vegetable garden on campus. To help them get started, they sought the expertise of L’Ecole des Jardiniers, a local association that promotes organic agriculture.

Since then, 25 students have built garden boxes and sown vegetables, berry plants and flowers. Twice a month, the participants meet with a facilitator from L’Ecole des Jardiniers to gain practical skills in urban agriculture: how to sow seeds, how to harvest, which plant combinations work well. This practical experience is a valuable complement to the academic perspectives on sustainable development taught at Sciences Po.