UWF in the Garden

In the Spring of 2017, From the Ground Up community garden’s Lead Gardener Elizabeth Eubanks was invited to speak to Christian Wagley’s Introduction to Environmental Science class at the University of West Florida.

Wagley then encouraged students to visit the garden to volunteer as a hands-on learning experience. In total, Eubanks estimates well over 100 man hours from around 40 different UWF students contributed to garden chores this semester.

“I know Elizabeth from being a neighbor to the garden and through my own passions for gardening, as I have brought a couple of local groups to the garden for tours,” Wagley says. “On each visit, Elizabeth wows us all with her combination of passion, knowledge, teaching and goodwill.”

Eubanks echoes his sentiments:

“A big HUGE thanks to Christian Wagley for letting me come speak to his class, then for sending his students to the garden,” Eubanks says. “I love to see how people bring their own passions into the garden. It’s priceless.”

The students helped with a variety of projects, including weeding and other common tasks. Two students in particular – Andrew S. and Anthony M. – went one step further, using their time and talents to record and edit a video promoting the Pensacola-based community garden.

View the video they created here.

“Our environmental science course is all in the classroom except for the service learning, and so that’s our one chance to get students out to see, touch, taste, smell and connect with the community,” Wagley adds. “Working in the garden and the other experiences our students have are a vital complement to what they learn in the classroom.”

To learn more about From the Ground Up garden and how you can get involved, please visit From the Ground Up Garden on Facebook.

– Ashley Kahn Salley

Lead Storyteller, Innisfree Hotels