By Hannah Eastman
Contributing Writer
Students gathered outside Ebert Art Center on the afternoon of Friday, April 19 for EarthFest, an event where students could play games on the residential quad and organizations interested in promoting sustainability could table. Among these green clubs were Leftists of Wooster, WOODs, Wooster Volunteer Network, GeoClub, Greenhouse and College Democrats. Savoring the last of the previous week’s warm weather, EarthFest was the first of several events held on campus to celebrate Earth Week 2024.
A few of these events celebrated the campus’s strides toward sustainability. Located between Westminster Cottage and the admissions building, the campus garden was shown some love on Sunday, April 21 for the department of sustainability’s Garden Party event. Brian Webb, director of sustainability, has found that it “really hasn’t been hard” to mobilize the community’s engagement around sustainability.
“There are so many students ready to jump in and get involved, as well as a whole lot of faculty who are excited about it too,” Webb said. “I’ve just been the catalyst but all the interest and enthusiasm has already been here.”
Plans to build a new pavilion have motivated gardeners across campus to move pollinator plants that would otherwise be disturbed by the new construction. According to Amelia Crowley ’27, a pavilion promises opportunities for an interactive outdoor classroom. She also noted that a row of pollinator plants will stay along the side of the new pavilion.
Space in the campus garden filled up fast for those who braved the overcast conditions Sunday afternoon to turn the soil and move beds. The event attracted both new gardeners and previous campus garden employees. “There’s a community that forms around people who like to garden,” said Gabriella Vish ’27. “Having a garden near me is a slice of home. The existence of a garden was something I really needed in a school.” Watching as the group began to file out of the garden for a short break with mocktails and mini sandwiches, the importance of a garden couldn’t be understated.
While the hiding sun may have kept some out, Britz Ruiz ’27 was quick to insist that “The clouds won’t stop us!” The hefty day of spring cleaning was led by Webb, Eva D’Ininto – the new administrative coordinator for sustainability – and Professor Matt Mariola of the Environmental Sciences department.
Between moving beds, turning soil and picking baby carrots out of the ground, the activity facilitated a range of conversations as participants got to know one another. Conversation subjects ranged from ballet to birding as a merlin hid in the top of a nearby tree. Gardening is such a hands-on activity that it forces you to learn things about other people. I learned that red tailed hawks stick to the north side of campus while others prefer the south.
Upon my arrival, Mariola joked that I’d be working on an experiential learning article. Working in the garden and realizing that many of the students who had turned out on this breezy afternoon were first years made me excited to think about all that this garden will continue to be, students and faculty who will continue to take care of and work with the garden.