Garden Ecology Lab

Studying the plants, insects, microbes, and decisions that improve or degrade a garden’s ability to promote environmental and human health.

Research

Our current projects focus on native plant - pollinator interactions, microbes in garden soils, urban agriculture and food production, and garden biodiversity. We work directly with gardeners to identify high priority projects that align with our areas of expertise. We are always on the lookout for new projects, but need to consider new projects in the context of current lab capacity, expertise, and funding.

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Teaching 

Teaching is a core component of the Garden Ecology Lab mission. Our group teaches credit, non-credit, and community classes on a variety of topics related to gardening and urban agriculture. Effective and supportive mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students is central to our work.

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From our Blog

Garden Ecology Lab

Garden Ecology Lab Feed

Calling All Gardeners in Corvallis and Portland 

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Apr 25, 2024

My mother introduced me to gardening at a young age, growing parsley, tomatoes, marigolds, and basil. With spending much time in the garden, so came spending time with the insects. We would catch bumble bees in little jars to look … Continue reading

Streptomyces: what’s not to love?

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Nov 19, 2023

© Jones et al/eLife under CC BY 4.0 We live in a world where we’re recognizing and discovering an ever-more complex and interwoven web of life—this vast ecology of our planet. We can see that life has taken many different routes to find … Continue reading

Behind the Scenes of the Portland Bee Guide!

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Oct 24, 2023

What is the Portland Bee Guide?  This month has seen the release of the Portland Bee Guide! This guide was a collaborative project among many different members of the Garden Ecology Lab, along with numerous others inside and outside Oregon … Continue reading

Upcoming Events