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Meet the Team

Current Team Members

Jenna O'Brien

Coordinator

ccg@uwindsor.ca

Jenna is an avid environmentalist who has earned a Master of Forest Conservation Degree from University of Toronto and an Honours Bachelor Degree in Environmental Science with Thesis from the University of Windsor. Jenna likes to spend her time adding more native plants to her home garden and botanizing around the natural areas of Windsor-Essex County.

Austin Roth

Graduate Student Society Executive Director

GSS-CCG Liaison

Austin has been a member of the Lancer Family since 2009. He has an undergraduate degree in Human Kinetics majoring in Sports Management and has now completed his master's degree in Human Kinetics. He grew up on his family's country property in Delaware before coming to UWindsor and has a passion for helping things grow.

Jacqueline Richardson

Outreach Assistant

Jacqueline is a University of Windsor alumna with an Honours Bachelor Degree in Environmental Science. Jacquie is also part of the grounds maintenance and tree planting teams at the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA).

Tanvi Jadhav

Garden Attendant

Tanvi is a student currently pursuing her Master's Degree in Engineering at the University of Windsor.

Legacy Team Members

Rita Haase

Founder & Coordinator from 2010 to 2014

Rita founded the Campus Community Garden, formerly known as the "Campus Community Garden Project" (CCGP), in 2010.

Tanya Basok

Coordinator from 2016 to 2022

Tanya is Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology. She teaches a course on Food and Global Sustainability. Some of her students have completed a placement at the CCG and found it to be a life-changing experience. She believes that community gardening, based on the principles of permaculture, provides a viable alternative to the industrial food system. She also views it as an important community building tool and a way to reduce food insecurity in Windsor.

Tanya's personal webpage

Chris Reid

Chris is an original member of the team that developed the CCG. He has been an active organic gardener since the 1970's and has helped to implement the permaculture approach within the CCG. He formerly worked as a field learning specialist at the UWindsor School of Social Work and as a liaison with the First Nations community. In addition to the garden's contribution to food security, Chris appreciates and promotes the community engagement and development aspect of the community garden.

"The garden provides a space on campus where students, faculty and community members can get to know each other while appreciating a naturalized setting."

Chris continues to occasionally lend his gardening expertise to the CCG Team while enjoying his retirement and spending time with his grandchildren.

Steve Daigle

Steve is a former University of Windsor staff member, an original CCG Team member, and a long-time gardener. Steve was involved in the heavy construction work around the garden, and loved to make black currant jam from berries grown in the garden.

"I remember planting my first seed with my grandfather in England about a hundred years ago."

Jennifer Soutter

jsoutter@uwindsor.ca

Jennifer is one of the CCG's masterminds and original gardeners. She is a Librarian at the University of Windsor’s Leddy Library. An enthusiastic but sloppy gardener, she maintains the Stewart Moore Carolinian Garden on behalf of Mrs. Moore.

Stewart Moore Carolinian Garden

Rebecca Shearon

Plot Coordinator

Rebecca is a University alumna from the School of the Environment, and formerly coordinated the assignments of individual plots at the Campus Community Garden.

Isaac Tomlinson

Isaac is a University of Windsor alum. He has a Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Studies, and he is an avid gardener. 

Michael Sims

Michael is an alumnus of the University of Windsor, holding an Honours Bachelor double major in Psychology and Criminology. An aspiring life-long gardener, he hopes to share his passion with as many lives as he can.