Garden Club Branches Out to Grow Community

Keshawn Allen

UWG’s Garden Club offers opportunities for students and faculty members to learn about and cultivate horticulture skills. By hosting events and having meetings throughout the semester, the Garden Club’s goal is to teach others how to care for the particular vegetation that they might like to grow and how to help the environment as a whole. 

At the meetings and events, club members and guests will be able to educate themselves on the plants that they are interested in working with. They will also get to learn more about what they can do to help the environment and keep plants alive. With over 150 clubs and organizations at the university centered on community, the Garden Club offers countless opportunities for students to gain volunteer hours. Students also maintain awareness about growing more plants and keeping gardens clean, protected and healthy so that the environment can be safe. 

Edmonson wants to ensure that reaching out and collaborating with other clubs and organizations will be an excellent chance for the Garden Club to give back.  They want to be able to better inform those who have little or no knowledge of what it takes to grow plants. 

“We definitely want to get more involved with outreach not only on campus but for other organizations as well,” says UWG Garden Club President Joel Edmonson.

The Garden Club plans to develop ways to raise money for the non-profit organization Keep Carrollton Beautiful. With the money that will be donated to the organization, plants and flowers will be planted around Carrollton. The Garden Club also wants to give other organizations a chance to gain volunteer hours by working with Keep Carrollton Beautiful to pick up litter on the side of the roads. 

Education is another desire for the club to be able to raise awareness. They plan on educating people about the roles and the responsibilities it takes to upkeep a garden, no matter the size. They will hold an event in the next few months where the Master Gardeners of Carroll County will give out gardening tips for plants and crops. Even though it is a Garden Club-led event, anyone is allowed to participate and it will take place at the garden on campus.

“Another goal that I had in mind was redoing the gazebo that was part of the Bonner House on campus. They were going to tear it down, but they ended up putting it in the garden.” says Edmonson.

The gazebo is now located in the campus garden, which is up the hill from West Commons dining hall. The garden is currently filled with plants and crops that the club donates to food kitchens and the Wolves Don’t Waste program at UWG.  With the gazebo being in the garden, Edmonson believes that renovating and decorating the gazebo will bring more attention and new members to the Garden Club. Currently, the club has only five active members, but they plan on branching out and accepting more plant and garden lovers. 

If any student or faculty member is interested in joining the Garden Club, meetings are held bi-weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the campus garden. More information can be found on WolfConnect.