Campus to Community: Sharing stories from our ongoing connections
St. Francis Xavier University doesn't stop at the edge of campus. Campus to Community is an ongoing series highlighting the deep ties between StFX and the communities it serves. We’re shining a light on these relationships--from research labs and global outreach, to service and shared purpose--and how they help shape and strengthen both.
From campus gardens to community food security: StFX student’s vision takes root
Evan Wilson moves methodically between raised garden beds, watering kale, basil, snap peas and zucchini on a sweltering July afternoon.
Ever since the StFX earth and environmental sciences masters student took over the volunteer role as director of the Students’ Union-operated Kevin’s Corner Community Gardens, he’s helped grow more than 1,000 pounds of fresh produce for the Antigonish Food Bank—a contribution doubled through Sodexo’s matching donation program. The gardens also help supply Kevin’s Corner Student Food Resource Centre during the academic year.
Now, the Ottawa, ON native and 2025 human nutrition graduate is helping launch a new community greenhouse that will provide seedlings for the gardens, create hands-on learning opportunities for students, and support additional community food initiatives.
“It’s just the right thing to do,” he says as he tends the market style gardens on West Street. “I love gardening. It excites me that I get to really help people.”
The proposed 15-by-22 greenhouse is a separate initiative from the Students’ Union-operated community gardens. While it will provide seedlings for Kevin’s Corner Community Gardens on West Street and the newer garden beds beside Bloomfield Centre, it will not be operated by the Students’ Union.
Mr. Wilson says he’s also looking into a partnership with Nova Scotia Community College’s Port Hawkesbury campus, where seedlings could supply a community garden connected to the culinary program and local food donations.
He has secured $1,250 through a Xaverian microgrant from StFX DiscoverBox, $1,000 from the Students’ Union, and $7,000 from the Sisters of St. Martha toward the greenhouse’s construction. StFX has also agreed to cover installation expenses, as well as ongoing heating, electricity and water costs, he says.
Construction is expected to begin in the spring.
“This was just an opportunity to do something good for the community,” says Mr. Wilson. “More people struggle to get fresh food.”
The idea for the greenhouse grew from his desire to make the gardens more sustainable. Until now, the gardens have relied on seedlings donated by Homi Garden Farm, where Mr. Wilson has worked for several years under owner Gyungbo Noh.
While a greenhouse gives StFX its own dedicated space to start seedlings and provide a reliable source of plants for the gardens each year, Mr. Wilson sees its potential as much broader.
“It can teach students how to garden and give them volunteer opportunities,” he says. “The greenhouse will have multiple fronts of benefits.”
He envisions a student-led operation involving students from across the university. Faculty members in the departments of earth and environmental sciences, biology, nutrition and business have agreed to support the initiative. “Students from each of the partnered departments will have roles relevant to their studies,” he says.
He expects students will help grow seedlings, and sell them at the Antigonish Farmers Market, maintain the gardens, develop educational materials on sustainable agriculture and environmental stewardship, and contribute to financial management.
The goal is an initiative that can continue year after year, giving students practical experience while strengthening local food security.
That need is significant. About 30 per cent of Nova Scotians are considered food insecure, while more than 40,000 Nova Scotians use food banks each month, he says.
This past summer, aided by volunteer Taylor Baine, Mr. Wilson spent about 12 hours a week working in the gardens, growing everything from radishes and beets to eggplant, cilantro, Korean herbs and native pollinator plants.
His involvement began almost by accident.
About four years ago, former Students’ Union president Jack Harding and Angus Kennedy revived StFX’s long-dormant garden plots as part of an effort to address food security. One day, they stopped by Kevin’s Corner, where Mr. Wilson was volunteering. They were carrying an unusual looking vegetable they wanted to identify.
“They came with this strange looking cucumber,” he recalls.
Before they left, Mr. Wilson wrote his phone number on a sticky note and told them to call if they ever needed help.
They did.
He eventually took over the gardens, pouring volunteer hours into both the growing operation and a plan to make it sustainable beyond any one person.
Ironically, he didn’t grow up gardening. His passion for growing food began after he took a job at Homi Garden Farm.
He arrived at StFX intending to become a dietitian, but his interests shifted during his undergraduate studies. “I realized I would be the worst counsellor,” he says with a laugh. “I realized I wanted to do research.”
Today, his graduate research focuses on helping small Nova Scotia farms donate fresh vegetables, fruit, meat and grains to food organizations. He just finished a term as co-president of the youth council for Second Harvest, Canada’s largest food rescue organization. Through it all, he’s interested in connecting food production, education, and community need.
