Michelle Christopherson, University of Minnesota Crookston Director of Outreach and Engagement, stopped to visit recently about the Allen & Freda Pedersen Community Garden.
The garden is located on City-owned land next to the City’s Valley Technology Park on the north side of the University of Minnesota Crookston campus on County Road 71.“This is a plot of land we have utilized through the years with Allen and Freda Pederson, former community members, long-standing residents, and Dr. Dan Svedarky, Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota Crookston and the former City Administrator Shannon Stassen,” says Christopherson.”
The Garden is named after Allen and Freda Pederson who loved gardening and wanted to share that with the community. “Allen and Freda Pederson were a wonderful couple. They not only contributed to the scholarships for our Horticulture programs, but as master gardeners, they too were strong community-minded residents, they were always looking out for their neighbors, and they were looking for ways in which they could make the community of Crookston a much more engaged community,” said Christopherson.
Through a collaboration with the City of Crookston and the University of Minnesota Crookston, the garden has been made available to the community. The City of Crookston allowed the University to put up two pergolas this summer as well as develop the property. The garden space is being utilized as well for gardening, flowers, raised beds and using the space to feed the students on campus. The hope also is to generate some funds from the community members and donors for scholarships for the Horticulture program at the University of Minnesota Crookston.” When Freda passed away, a scholarship was created, and those dollars were generated by local and regional contributors for the scholarships within Horticulture,” said Christopherson.
Development of the land started at that time to raise produce for the students on campus, for the cafeteria, and to feed the international students that are on campus year-round. Christopherson added that over the years, particularly during Covid, work on the garden was scaled back. This year, though, the University was anxious to get back to planning for the future of the garden space.” This year, we got together with a handful of different donors who were interested in reigniting that space. The scholarships have continued to grow financially, so we’ve been able to award students Horticulture Scholarships,” says Christopherson
The garden has grown over the years. Currently at 65’ wide and 88’ long, the University was able to add a program to engage the community this year, offering leased raised beds on a section of the Allen and Freda Pederson Community Garden. “We have 12 raised beds, and those 12 raised beds are leased by people within the community and on campus,” said Christopherson. The University would like to continue the raised bed program in the coming years and add more beds if the desire is out there, but we will need to secure funding to keep a Garden Manager on staff so that these gardens will be maintained, as well as maintaining the campus garden. There is a lot to be considered when making plans for this site.” This is city-owned land, but the work is being done by the University, so that is a great collaborative piece that we have for the community, but it does take money to make it happen,” said Christopherson.
The University is looking forward to hosting an Art and Garden tour later this month. There will be self-guided tours and guided tours. The cost for the event is $25, which includes entrance into the event, food, a beverage, a commemorative glass, and more, Christopherson said.” We are going to be hosting an event on August 29, an Art and Garden Tour on campus. We will be having hors d’oeuvres; we will be having a cash bar; Drafts Bar and Grill will be there, and Far North Spirits are going to be on campus with some of their cocktails.”
Christopherson wants to make sure that the community knows that because of the wonderful partnership between the City of Crookston and the University, everyone is welcome to come out and walk around and enjoy the gardens. However, she does ask that you maintain a little distance from the raised beds, as they have been leased by community members to grow their own produce.
The Allen and Freda Pederson Community Garden is located on County Road 71, next to the city’s Valley Technology Park.
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