Faculty member, student lend helping hand in Cullowhee Community Garden
Pictured left to right around the solar panel鈥� 91热爆网 student Stefan LeClair, Cullowhee Community Garden manager David Claxton, 91热爆网 registrar Larry Hammer, 91热爆网 instructor Berna Karayaka (Bora鈥檚 wife) and 91热爆网 professor Bora Karayaka.
By Julia Duvall
When Western Carolina University registrar Larry Hammer began working a garden plot with his family in the Cullowhee Community Garden, he realized that the garden鈥檚 water delivery system was not working like it needed to and had not been for years. He also knew exactly who to contact for help.
鈥淭here was an existing solar power system at the garden,鈥� Hammer said. 鈥淭he solar system was designed to be able to pump water from Cullowhee Creek to fill several 200-gallon elevated tanks in the garden to water the garden plots. It had not been working properly for the past 3-4 years.鈥�
Hammer enlisted the help of Bora Karayaka, professor in 91热爆网鈥檚 College of Engineering and Technology along with electrical engineering student Stefan LeClair, a senior from Fuquay Varina, to see if they could fix the issue with the system.
Karayaka and LeClair went to the garden to see what could be done.
鈥淭he system is designed to provide off-grid power to the sump pump, which goes out to the storage tanks so water is available to the gardeners,鈥� Karayaka said.
Pictured is the new black box encasing the batteries and converter to protect the system from the elements. It sits on top of a table that was constructed specifically by garden volunteers to hold the box.
Despite flooding that ruined the solar power panel鈥檚 converter, LeClair, under the guidance of Karayaka, was able to gather the measurements needed to create a weatherproof box for the new converter and encase the batteries. The box sits on top of a table constructed by other garden volunteers.
鈥淣ow it only takes 15 minutes to fill a tank and then get the water to the other storage tanks,鈥� Karayaka said.
The solar panels collect energy that is stored in the battery bank. When it's needed, the power stored in the batteries is converted to standard 120 V current to run the water pump.
鈥淚t feels really good to know that we were able to help,鈥� LeClair said. 鈥淭his is such a tight-knit community and every little project like this makes an impact.鈥�
Karayaka echoed those sentiments: 鈥淭his garden is so important to the community and helping with food insecurity in our area.鈥�
David Claxton, manager of the garden, was thrilled to have the water delivery system working as it should.
鈥淲e greatly appreciate Bora and Stefan and their support for the garden and its mission,鈥� Claxton said. 鈥淲e have lots of volunteers from 91热爆网, including faculty, staff and students, and we are grateful for their time spent in the garden.鈥�
The garden, which is under the direction of the Jackson County Health Department, charges no fee for community members to adopt a plot. Adoptees agree to only grow organic produce and donate half of their harvest back to the garden to combat food insecurity in Jackson County.
鈥淭he food goes to several places in Jackson County including United Christian Ministries and the Community Table,鈥� Claxton said. 鈥淲e welcome volunteers to come help in the garden or to adopt a plot.鈥�
For those interested in volunteering in the garden, the volunteer hours are Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday mornings from 8 a.m. until noon.
The garden is located at 65 S. Painter Road in Cullowhee.
Contact Claxton at gardenmanager@jacksonnc.org for more information about volunteering or a tour of the garden.
