By Ruby Dickson
On Sunday Sept. 28, a group of students from the Sustainable Lawrence University Gardens (SLUG) made an appearance on the morning show “Good Day Wisconsin” on Fox 11 Green Bay. Four Lawrence students performed a short segment in which they demonstrated how to cook several items using ingredients from the SLUG garden.
SLUG is responsible for the upkeep of Lawrence’s agricultural gardens on the north bank of the Fox River, across the street from the Warch Campus Center. Although SLUG manager Cate Bentley attested that “Fox 11 is the first big media operation that has reached out to us,” the club has a presence on-campus and off, as it cooperates with local restaurants to obtain compost.
The segment which the SLUG members participated in is “Cooking With You.” It regularly features Fox Cities community members demonstrating their homemade recipes and cooking with the show’s host, Pauleen Le.
Fox 11 Green Bay contacted the SLUG leadership to request a visit from the club because the segment managers want to emphasize good examples of local, sustainable organic agriculture.
In addition, a station staff member is reportedly a Lawrence graduate. The station’s managers also expressed interest in the fact that SLUG is almost entirely student-run.
During their spotlight, while chatting with the host of the segment, SLUG members senior, Will Gislason; Junior, Cate Bentley; and sophomores, AJ Williams and Elana Lambert showed their cooking chops. They demonstrated how to prepare an arugula purple basil pesto and a tomato and squash sauce, both staples of the club’s food plan. These sauces were intended to be added to noodle dishes, so the club also brought a few bowls of pasta for display.
Afterwards, they stayed to chat with the show’s cast and crew for a half an hour, during which SLUG members consulted with the show’s co-anchor and meteorologist, Pete Petoniak, about predictions regarding this year’s frosts. The Fox 11 employees reportedly gulped down the prepared SLUG food, impressed by how delicious it was.
Fox 11 managers expressed the intent to build more of a relationship with SLUG and potentially Lawrence as a whole. SLUG members attested that other on-campus organizations arrange activities and perform tasks that may well be of interest to local media.
Stated Cate Bentley, “I hope this segment can be a catalyst toward more visibility for what Lawrence students do.”
SLUG also has some new on-campus developments. Their yearly Harvest Festival, operated in conjunction with other campus organizations, is scheduled for this Friday, Oct. 10, at 5:30 p.m. in the garden. This celebration of the end of the harvest season is slated to include live music and a large spread of food.