Students got their hands dirty at a community garden cleanup organized by BYU’s Civic Engagement Leadership on Saturday, March 29.
Partnering with the Community Action Services food bank, BYU's civic engagement program recruited more than 50 students to help prepare community garden boxes.
These garden boxes, owned by Community Action Services, are available to rent for $20. Hillary Whittaker, the community garden manager, explained how the boxes function.
“We provide the land, the tools, the seeds and the water,” Whittaker said. “Then members of the community can just come here and grow food.”
Although the garden boxes have been around since 2010, they have recently gained popularity. With a surge of interest, Whittaker knew they would need help getting the boxes ready for use. BYU’s civic engagement program stepped in to help.
“I was looking for a solution to help weed the area, and that’s when BYU Civic Engagement got involved,” Whittaker said.
Professor Aaron Skabelund, director of the Office of Civic Engagement, noted the value of the partnership with Community Action and its future involvement.
“We want to start doing this once a year, and spread the love of getting involved,” Skabelund said.
The event was met with enthusiasm. Civic engagement student assistant Jaden Boyer shared the feedback they received from volunteers.
“We had lots of people consistently saying that they hadn’t done hands-on service in forever, and that we should host more of these events,” Boyer said.
Fletcher Gibbons, a volunteer from AmeriCorps, was also appreciative, and expressed amazement at the turnout and the students’ commitment to service.
“I am shocked how many people showed up,” Gibbons said. “I can’t overstate how much their service is doing.”
Service at the garden cleanup focused on weeding out invasive species such as Star of Bethlehem, a weed that resembles onion sprouts and is toxic if consumed. Students also helped clear debris and rebuild a greenhouse.
This project had a large turnout and is just one of many service events put on by the civic engagement program. Each semester, students in their program work with different organizations to create lasting changes within their communities.
“This is something really fun to do,” Whittaker said. “It’s nice to be outside, get your hands dirty and do something great for the community.”
With plans to continue hosting the cleanup annually, civic engagement leaders are committed to fostering student involvement and community service for years to come.