Gardening Club kicked off the spring semester with a new meeting and many new members. The first meeting, held Jan. 30, saw officers welcoming newcomers and updating the club about new opportunities the spring holds.
With the transition from winter to spring, the club can expand its operations from inside to outside as well. The club operates the community garden, located on the east side of campus off of Starin Road. With a three-section greenhouse in Upham Hall, the club grows and harvests a variety of plants.
“In the summer and spring, we’re able to grow a bunch of different vegetables out in the garden,” said club President Maren McDonnell, “unique things like different peppers, broccoli and squash.”
In the previous year, the club experimented with the Three Sisters method, a Native American technique spanning back to pre-colonial times. The method entails planting corn, squash and bean plants all in the same spots.
This allows the plants to grow around each other, providing support for the bean plant as well as providing key nutrients to each other in the soil. It is a traditional method revived for increased sustainability in both land space and material usage.
The vegetables grown during the summer are donated to local food pantries and community centers in Whitewater and to the Warhawk Pantry. Plants
grown inside, such as succulents and other house plants, are sold during fundraising community events or given out during university events.
Hope Campbell, a freshman journalism major, joined the club last semester. She thoroughly enjoys the ease of the club and the low commitment during busy times of the year.
“I enjoy the fact that I get to be outside for about an hour, at least, a week,” Campbell said. “I would definitely recommend people to join Gardening Club, even if you don’t have any experience.”
Campbell recommends the club to any students looking for a low-stakes and relaxing commitment.
“I find it very fun,” Campbell said. “It’s very social. Everyone is learning as you go. And you can kind of come and go as you please.”
