Students Dig In

On Labor Day, 15 students and a handful of faculty gathered in the campus garden for a workday, organized by the Student Government Association (SGA) and the student garden and composting clubs. 

They mulched, weeded, and cleaned up some previously unused spots. Then, they planted native pollinator plants to attract butterflies and other insects, a key initiative of the Campus Garden Club this semester.

“Our main idea now is to make the seating area in the garden surrounded by native plants that attract butterflies, so when people are here, they can enjoy the beautiful flowers and insects,” said Dru Schimke-Goetz ’28, president of the Campus Garden Club. 

Joseph Atkins ’28, SGA secretary of service and community relations, was pleased to be coordinating the day’s events.  

“The SGA wanted to host an event to bring people together, show some love to our campus, and give back,” Atkins said. He was part of a team digging and unearthing bits of an old fence and a large tarp that had become buried and overgrown behind a shed at the far end of the space.

The Composting Club, which maintains the composting system, is hoping to bring post-consumption composting to campus soon. Zoe Brookbank ’26, president of the club, spent the day pulling weeds, refilling the wood chip bins, and cleaning out the drop-off bins, as well as overseeing maintenance on the composting bin aeration systems. Students no longer have to turn the piles of waste manually to aerate them. With the help of a grant, the students built a timer-controlled fan system that pumps oxygen into the piles.

“We have a lot of people interested in working in the garden and getting their hands dirty,” Brookbank said.  

Nicole “Nikki” Hurless, a visiting assistant professor of psychology, was hard at work as well.  

“I’m happy to be working to make the garden more accessible and usable for [my] class to meet and work on in the spring,” said Hurless, who plans to teach a special topics course on eco-therapy next semester. She is also exploring the idea of a chakra garden to connect spirituality with the natural world.

Katherine “Kathy” Thornton ’13, a field technician with the Washington College Natural Lands Project (see Seeds of Change), recently took over managing the garden. 

She hopes it will continue to expand as a space where students can learn about plants as well as relax in a natural community space.

“The initial intent for the garden was always to be an outdoor classroom for courses and clubs, and we’re seeing that come to fruition more and more,” said Thornton. “It’s very exciting to see the buy-in from students and faculty alike.”    

—Dominique Ellis Falcon