The Pearson House garden is getting a makeover.
The garden, overrun with weeds and ivy just a month ago, has now been transformed with freshly planted flowers thanks to new caretakers giving it some much-needed attention. Starting this month, students and staff will come together every Friday to bring the garden to life.
Professor Karla Armbruster and Shane Kennedy, director of operations of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, had discussed the garden in January and found they were both interested in tending to it. Armbruster says the garden hasn’t been “intensively” cared for since she started teaching 26 years ago. At the same time, students have been asking for a space to garden.
”When Shane was saying that he loved to garden and volunteered to spearhead it, I was like ‘Alright!’ It was our conversation that started it and his enthusiasm and willingness to be the point person,” Armbruster said.
Armbruster and Kennedy, who both grew up gardening, do it for stress relief – one of the main reasons they wanted to make a space for students to garden. Armbruster also mentioned that soil microbes have an effect on mental health. According to GardeningKnowHow, a type of bacteria that lives in soil produces serotonin the same way an antidepressant does.
“I think all students need a place of relaxation and tranquility like green spaces to get calmness,” Kennedy said. “I can’t think of a place [on campus] that’s private that you can go and relax, study or hang out for a couple minutes.”
The Webster Environmentalist Coalition has also gotten involved with tending the garden. Coalition treasurer Jack Farish, who is studying under a self-designed program for his Environmental Studies major, has been working with Armbruster and Kennedy to spread the word of the initiative.
“This is an opportunity for students to start working with nature firsthand because it’s one thing to read and know about climate change, but it’s another to actually learn how to conserve the ecosystem and put that into action,” Farish said.
Multiple students showed up to the first Friday garden get-together to pull weeds and ivy and plant flowers. Freshman Maddy Griffin volunteered because she wants to help the garden reach its fullest potential. She said she plans to volunteer every Friday.
As for the future of the garden, Armbruster and Kennedy will start the garden this year and then eventually hand it over to students. The intention is to fill the garden with mainly native plants, making it easier for students to maintain, according to Armbruster. Farish thinks the garden will be a good place for students to experiment with plants.
“I think it’s cool to think of gardening as an experiment,” Farish said. “You just try it and see what works and what doesn’t. It’s pretty cool just having a place where you can pay attention to the environment. Once you have that, it’s pretty easy.”
This Thursday, April 25, the caretakers are hosting an opening day event at the garden from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
To help transform the garden, just show up to the garden behind Pearson House any Friday at 1. No gardening tools or experience are necessary.
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