April marks National Garden Month, and at GCSU, the Gardening and Botany clubs are in full swing with the spring planting season.
“It helps bring a lot of awareness to gardening, especially for Georgia College, it just helps students become more aware that we even have a local garden that they can come and get fruits and veggies from at any time,” said Camille Tobey, president of GCSU’s Gardening Club.
The Gardening Club maintains GCSU’s community garden on West Campus, where members meet regularly to plant and care for seasonal fruits, vegetables and herbs.
“We’re always trying to make the garden look as nice and pretty as it can, but especially during the springtime, we really want to be planting those nice spring and summer veggies and fruits,” Tobey said.
Beyond planting and upkeep, the club also offers creative activities such as painting rocks and pots, along with other crafts to encourage student engagement and community.
“A week or so ago, we made wind chimes, which was really fun,” Tobey said. “We try to sprinkle in some other things that’ll make people want to just come and hang because that is really what [the] gardening club is.”
This spring, the club will participate in Earth Fest on April 25 and volunteer at the Alaha’ Ndem community garden in partnership with the service sorority, Gamma Sigma Sigma. Regular meetings also provide opportunities for students to learn practical gardening skills.
“Our main thing at almost every meeting is a whole lot of weeding because that is a constant battle,” Tobey said. “Our members learn more about how certain things grow, when to plant them, how far apart to plant them and how deep to plant them in the soil.”
Tobey said gardening in general is a rewarding hobby for those passionate about nature and sustainability, even for beginners.
“It’s not as complicated as people think that it would be,” Tobey said. “Do your research online and find the correct supplies, but once you get started with it, it’s really easy to keep up with.”
GCSU’s Botany Club is another way for students to explore plant life. Isabella Guidera, the club’s event planner, said members take part in fun crafts and learn more about plants and propagation.
“For our club meetings, we do things such as tote bag painting, terrarium building and pumpkin painting for Halloween,” Guidera said. “We plant propagations for meetings sometimes, so from that, members can learn about different plants, what they look like, how to properly take care of them and how to propagate them without hurting them.”
According to the National Garden Bureau, national horticultural organizations began lobbying for National Garden Week in the 1980s. The observance was eventually signed into law by President Reagan in 1986 and later expanded to the entire month of April in 2002 by the National Gardening Association.
Guidera said that having a nationally designated garden month serves as an important reminder of the environment’s role in everyday life.
“As the human species develops new things with technology, sometimes you can push gardening and the environment to the side, so I think it’s important to take a moment to remember how important it is and how vital it is to our existence,” Guidera said.
Students interested in getting involved can follow the clubs on Instagram @gcsu.gardeningclub and @gcsu.botanyclub for updates on meetings and events.