SustainMizzou aims to prepare the garden’s soil for winter. They collaborate with Heart of Missouri Master Gardeners to spend the day outdoors to give back to the community and nurture the earth
On Oct. 15, 2023, members of Sustain Mizzou and Heart of Missouri Master Gardeners spent the day at the MU Children’s Learning Garden for a final time this year to clear out the remaining harvest and leave room for new crops to grow when spring comes around. Members removed weeds and spread mulch.
Before, the MU Children’s Learning Garden — a part of the Child Development Lab — was left unattended due to understaffing from COVID, until later a member of the Heart of Missouri Master Gardeners Donna Puleo offered to nurture the garden. Now collaborating with Sustain Mizzou, they facilitate the garden together to keep it flourishing for the children.Members of Sustain Mizzou spread mulch over the soil in the garden beds. “On this workday, we’re actually kind of putting the garden to bed,” master gardener Donna Puleo said. ”The season is ending, so there’s not a lot of light, and frost will be coming soon. What we’re doing now is putting mulch or compost on the beds to enrich and amend the soil so it’s good for next year.” The Heart of Missouri Master Gardeners appreciate the help Sustain Mizzou students provide as they spend their time volunteering with them. “I like that it’s all interspaced, and everybody that comes to the [events] are just interested individuals. They don’t have to know anything about gardening, beekeeping or bikes, but they come to learn everything to learn and hopefully someday even if they don’t use it in their careers, they use it at home,” junior Emma Parry said. Master gardener Mary Licklider removes the remaining weeds in the MU Children’s Learning Garden. The goal for the master gardeners is not only to educate students on how to garden, but also to help teachers educate children. Junior Emma Parry works with other members of Sustain Mizzou to tend to the MU Children’s Learning Garden. With a variety of activities Sustain Mizzou has to offer, Parry works mainly in one of the components as the Children’s Garden Project Manager and collaborates with the master gardeners of Columbia. Sophomore Adrian Dunivan (left) and master gardener Mary Licklider (right) shovel mulch to transport to the MU Children’s Learning Center. “I really want to pitch an idea to [Sustain Mizzou] for the learning garden. I think it would be super interesting to cultivate fungi in the garden for the kids to learn about decomposers,” Dunivan said. As the gardeners conclude their garden workday at the MU Children’s Learning Garden, they appreciate giving back to the community of Columbia. “I like being outdoors. I think it’s good for your mental health and exercise,” master gardener Donna Puleo said. “I asked each one of [the Sustain Mizzou students], ‘Why are you helping?’ and the majority of the answer was that they just like to be out in the fresh air digging.”
Edited by Hannah Schuh | hschuh@themaneater.com
Copy edited by Jackson Cooper and Grace Knight
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Edited by Sophie Rentschler | srentschler@themaneater.com
