Baylor Community Garden

Limited-Time Special Opportunity: We are inviting proposals from students who would like to paint murals at the garden.

Click here for more information!

The Baylor Community Garden (BCG) is right next to Baylor's campus at the corner of 9th and James. Since August 2023, student groups, classes, faculty, and staff from across the university have revived the BCG as a blossoming living laboratory for holistic environmental discovery, creativity, and community health. The Environmental Humanities is a major collaborator in this work through classes, student projects, and volunteering. Every semester, the BCG grows hundreds of pounds of produce to alleviate food insecurity on campus and in Waco through distribution at Baylor's student food pantry (the Store) and partnering community organizations.

Andrea Valdez (Andrea_Valdez1@baylor.edu) is the main point of contact for the Baylor Community Garden (BCG). Andrea serves as the Community Garden and Urban Agriculture Outreach Program Manager at Baylor's Office of Sustainability in partnership with the College of Arts & Sciences and Environmental Humanities. She collaborates with students, faculty, and programs across Baylor University to organize workshops, innovative projects, and engaging events at the BCG while strengthening Baylor's partnerships to support marginalized communities, particularly through the Sustainable Community and Regenerative Agriculture Project (SCRAP).

Graphic of students working in Baylor Community Garden

Reservations

Use the link below to register to use the garden for a Baylor class, student group, or event.

Availability:

Mon-Thurs 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
special requests considered for evenings and weekends

Baylor Community Garden Use Request Form

Got Questions or Want to Contribute?

Compost Drop Off (September-May):
Instead of adding to the landfill, bring your food and yard scraps to the garden, where they will become compost to nourish soil, produce, and community! Deposit them at any time of year in the bins next to the garden gate on S. 9th street. Click here for a graphic displaying compostable items that we accept. Signs above drop off bins will guide you in depositing items. Click here to see a map of this and other composting sites around Waco.

Volunteer Hours (January-May 2025): Wednesdays 4:00-5:00 PM, Saturdays 9:00-10:00 AM
Even if you are not a regular volunteer (see next section), you can come lend a hand and learn more.

If you are an individual or group coming for the first time email CommunityGarden@baylor.edu to give us advance notice.
We might not always be able to accommodate larger groups, so it's vital to contact us in advance to receive a confirmation.

Regular Volunteer Roles:
Baylor students, faculty, and staff can contribute on a regular basis with support from our Garden team. Email the Program Manager, Andrea_Valdez1@baylor, about the role that interests you. She can include you on our Canvas site, which contains guides and resources for volunteers and is our primary means for keeping you updated about opportunities and needs.

Photo of Baylor Students Working in Community Garden

Green Ambassadors promote environmental awareness and spread the word about the garden.
They help others learn how to contribute to our composting program and distribute food-scrap collection buckets so they can become involved.
The Processing Team helps process food scraps and yard remains from the community into our compost bins.
The Turning Team flips and monitors the compost piles to keep them breaking down into high-quality compost.
The Campus Kitchen Garden Team maintains the garden by planting and caring for crops and applying finished compost to the garden beds.

For Press and Media:
Before publishing media coverage or photos for the press related to the BCG, we ask that you first contact CommunityGarden@baylor.edu to share your plans and receive permission. This applies to agencies and individuals within and beyond Baylor. We are excited to partner with you in sharing about the many beautiful things growing at the garden, even as we ensure the collective mission of the BCG is respected and demonstrate sensitivity to the needs and wishes of all the wonderful folks who share and tend to this place.

Other Questions or Ideas:
Send questions about the above or ideas for the garden to CommunityGarden@baylor.edu.