Category: English Language Institute
New growth for the ELI garden and for students
July 28, 2025 Written by Kaitlyn Diehl, Photos and Videos taken by Kaitlyn Diehl, Elizabeth O’Connor, and Al Mukhtar Al Barwani
The English Language Institute’s long-forgotten garden has been revived! The garden first came to life in 2010 as a partnership between the Food and Garden Policy Committee graduate student organization (FGPC) and the ELI, and was active until 2017 as a service learning and community garden, where ELI and UD students, faculty and alumni came together in a range of activities. Now, the 23-bed plot has again become a hub for collaboration between international students and UD students, two colleges and the greater Newark community.
The vision for the garden’s revival began with one UD undergraduate: James Bretzger, a sophomore landscape architecture major in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR). Last year, Bretzger was looking for a space to garden on campus when he discovered the ELI’s plot. After getting permission, he turned the project into an independent study under his advisor, Ana Wik, associate professor of Landscape Architecture.
Although the garden was overgrown with brambles and weeds, Bretzger saw its potential. “The good thing is, there was a blueprint for the garden,” he said.
“I could tell exactly where all the paths were. Once they were in and the beds were separated from each other, I could get all the weeds out of the area and start planting.”
While Bretzger restored the garden beds, he began growing tomatoes, cabbage, flax, radishes, peppers, and many other plants in UD’s greenhouse on South Campus. When the roots were strong enough, he transplanted them to the new garden.
Collaboration across campus and within the Newark community
Bretzger hasn’t had to “get in the weeds” all on his own; Elizabeth O'Connor, the ELI’s student life and housing manager, has been an invaluable resource. She secured a Cultural Activities and Public Events grant through the University of Delaware Faculty Senate Committee to help fund the project and provide gardening tools. Throughout the academic year, she drove Bretzger around Newark to collect compost, transport plants, pick up equipment, and more.
As the project unfolded and Bretzger’s needs became more complex and labor intensive, O’Connor enlisted the help of UD facilities and The Little Goat Coffee Shop, turning the garden into a community affair.
“James needed to create a very nutrient-dense soil for his plants, so I went pretty much every week and got coffee grounds from Little Goat Coffee Shop,” said O’Connor, who is continuing the practice this summer. “They’ve been very supportive.”
Michael Loftus, assistant director of UD facilities, also helped James clear out some of the debris and put down wood chips.
“They've been terrific to work with. It's a lot of work to get compost and prepare a garden, and the two of us were trying to do it on our own. I've been really thrilled with the University of Delaware's response to helping us out,” said O’Connor.
Planting seeds and forming friendships
ELI students have pitched in as well. In the spring, Bretzger was joined by Omani student, Al Mukhtar Al Barwani, who shared his love of gardening.
“In Oman, most people have farms or at least small gardens, but that's less common in the big cities,” said Al Barwani. “My grandpa’s backyard garden is bigger than his house–it takes up about 75% of the land; he didn’t own a separate farm like most people back then. I grew up surrounded by this and so did my father and grandfather.”
Bretzger’s green thumb is also generational. “My great grandparents had a 250-acre farm in Pennsylvania that they sold, and my grandparents have a couple of acres of land in Pennsylvania,” he said.
Al Barwani spent his last few weeks at the ELI helping Bretzger cultivate the garden. They learned a lot from each other in the process, cross-referencing the names of plants in their native tongues, sharing tips and tricks, and discussing the differences and similarities in the vegetation able to grow in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. versus in Oman’s arid climate.
When asked what surprised Bretzger and Al Barwani the most about working with somebody from a different culture, Bretzger responded: “That so many things are the same in certain ways. Even though in Oman I know a lot of their plant cultivation is based around date palms, which would not grow around here because the frost would kill them, there are many other plants that grow in both countries.”
Al Barwani chimed in to agree. “I think it's interesting to see the similarities that we have in the names of plants, the types of plants that we plant and the different things that we do in the garden,” he said.
Plans for the future
Bretzger and O’Connor have big dreams for the future and the garden’s contributions to UD’s greater community.
Bretzger hopes to expand upon his vision with the help of other UD and ELI students passionate about gardening. “I hope to have a strong force of volunteers–an actual garden club to maintain it–so that every Saturday or so, there will be people who will come out and work on it.” A partnership with the Eco Justice interns–a team mostly made up of UD students and led by Dr. McKay Jenkins of the English department–has led to the garden’s maintenance during the summer.
“It's a lot of work,” O’Connor said, “But I think if James' vision comes to fruition, he is going to have fruits and vegetables that we’d like to get into the hands of the dining halls. We also might try to do some food bank donations.”
O’Connor also envisions the space becoming a tranquil safe haven for students amidst the chaos of campus life. “I would love to be able to go there and see students sitting on the picnic tables, whether it's studying or just hanging out and enjoying the space. I hope the process of having the garden will help students come together and learn from each other.”
