UMD’s Community Learning Garden Through the Pandemic

by Sasha Allen

Two times a week, the University of Maryland Community Learning Garden allows volunteers with any type of gardening experience to harvest and care for crops grown by students, for students.

Typically, on Monday afternoons and Saturday mornings, groups of 6-10 students harvest squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, leafy greens and more. The garden, which is located between Eppley Recreation Center and the School of Public Health, goes unnoticed by many students. But for others, it serves as a source of food.

The garden, which started in 2010 as a graduate student’s project, encourages, “…people to see green spaces in new ways and use them to their fullest capacities,” according to the UMD Community Learning Garden website. Today, volunteers grow different types of produce strictly for the purpose of donating it to the UMD Campus Pantry.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, I decided that we were going to donate all of our produce to the [UMD] Campus Pantry so that people who utilize the pantry could have fresh produce to supplement the dry goods that they receive,” said Meg Smolinski, the outreach coordinator for the Campus Arboretum and the staff advisor for the garden.

“It was very meaningful to me to have something to do during COVID to make a difference, to make a positive impact, during a time of uncertainty” Smolinksi said.

Originally, volunteers donated some, but not all, of their harvest to the Campus Pantry. Now, all of the harvests go directly to the Campus Pantry to help students who are food insecure, Smolinski said.

While the number of volunteers allowed in the garden was originally reduced in the height of the pandemic, Kevin Barnes, a senior microbiology major and an intern for the garden, said the group produces more crops now than in the past.

“This year we’ve had a lot of volunteers so we have produced a lot, around 1200 lbs [of produce],” Barnes said, “2021 has been our best year, purely because we have had a lot of volunteers, and more work and more care has gone into the garden.”

Jason Skill, a senior general biology major, said walking past the garden made him want to get involved. Now, for Skill, working in the garden is, “super relaxing and a good way to pass the time while being productive.”

While the garden has gone through changes in the last year and a half, the goal of building a community from the ground up remains central to its existence. They encourage all students, regardless of experience level, to join.

“It’s just good to get outside and meet other people,” said Saminski, “We are a welcoming, open, no knowledge, come as you are type of organization.”