The story of campus gardening at Rice began in 1999, when a group of passionate students—supported by the Rice Student Volunteer Program (RSVP), the Center for the Study of Environment and Society (CSES), and Facilities Engineering and Planning—planted the seeds of the original Rice Community Garden. With help from local Houston gardeners, they transformed a patch of campus into a living classroom for sustainability, community, and ecological stewardship.
Fast forward to 2018, and that vision blossomed into something even more expansive: the Betty and Jacob Friedman Holistic Garden. Located behind the Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center, this vibrant space was designed to integrate food, ecology, and education in a more accessible and visible location. The Holistic Garden serves as a hub for hands-on learning, student research, and community engagement.
Each semester, students in Dr. Joseph "Joe" Novak’s course, EBIO/ENST 204: Environmental Sustainability – The Design and Practice of Community Agriculture, take the lead in shaping the garden’s future. Through this course, students explore ecological principles and sustainable agriculture while managing one of three campus gardens. Their work includes:
- Designing garden layouts and crop rotations
- Building healthy soil through composting
- Practicing organic pest and weed control
- Creating habitats for pollinators and beneficial insects
The Rice Holistic Garden is more than a green space. It’s a living lab where students cultivate not just plants, but also knowledge, collaboration, and a deeper connection to the environment.
You can learn more about the Holistic Garden, including how to get involved, by visiting their website here.