Vern Community Garden Volunteering

I helped the community at George Washington by working on their garden and picking up ripe vegetables for their school. I learned how to look for ripe vegetables and how to plant grass with different kinds of germination. Now I have grown an interest in gardening even though I didn't have any before and I will go home and help my mother with her garden.

I participated in a volunteer gardening session at the Vern Community Garden. I harvested crops, examined plants for pest damage, and planted seeds for two different plant types. I also gained new knowledge on the maintenance and production of crops, particularly on steep hillsides. The experience also strengthened my communication and teamwork skills as I worked alongside others to complete tasks.

Overall, I am very grateful for the opportunity to work with George Washington, and I’ll keep pushing myself to serve the community.

Participating in this gardening activity was an educational and meaningful experience that helped me develop a deeper understanding of environmental sustainability, plant development, and the importance of maintaining healthy ecosystems. One of the most valuable things I learned was the importance of composting and how organic waste, such as food scraps, leaves, and other biodegradable materials, can be transformed into nutrient-rich compost that improves soil fertility and supports healthy plant growth. Before this experience, I did not fully understand how something commonly considered waste could be reused to benefit the environment. Learning about composting helped me connect classroom concepts such as decomposition, nutrient cycling, and the role of microorganisms in maintaining ecological balance to real-life agricultural practices. Another interesting part of the experience was learning how to identify ripe, unripe, and almost-ripe tomatoes by observing differences in their color, firmness, and overall appearance. I learned that unripe tomatoes are generally green and firm, almost-ripe tomatoes begin changing color as they mature, and ripe tomatoes develop their characteristic mature color and become slightly softer. This helped me understand that fruit ripening is a biological process involving changes in pigments, texture, and chemical composition, influenced by plant hormones such as ethylene. As a biology student, I found this particularly interesting because it demonstrated how plant growth and development concepts can be observed outside the classroom. I also realized that identifying the correct stage of ripeness is important for harvesting, reducing food waste, and ensuring that produce is collected at the appropriate time. What stood out to me most was how composting and plant development are interconnected, as nutrient-rich soil helps support the growth of plants that eventually produce the food we consume. This experience changed my perspective on gardening because I began to appreciate the scientific knowledge, patience, and environmental responsibility involved in growing and maintaining crops. It also made me recognize that small community gardening activities can contribute to larger environmental goals by promoting sustainable food production, reducing waste, and encouraging responsible resource management. Moving forward, I hope to apply what I learned by being more mindful of food waste, supporting environmentally friendly practices, and participating in activities that benefit my community. Overall, this experience strengthened my understanding of the relationship between biological processes, agriculture, and environmental conservation while reminding me that even small actions can make a meaningful difference in creating a healthier and more sustainable environment.

While volunteering at Vern Community Garden, I was able to learn more about various different plants and how taking care of them is essential. My main responsibility was cutting down the dead parts of plants in order to improve their overall health. In order to do so, we used shears to carefully cut away the dead parts of the plants while also avoiding the green parts and roots. We did not throw away the dead parts of the plants, but instead reused them as compost by cutting it into small pieces. Not only did I find this interesting because it’s resourceful, but something that was no longer living could still be useful in helping new plants grow. To add on, I also participated in picking tomatoes from the tomato plants. The color of the tomatoes ultimately helped us determine if they were ripe and ready to be picked. During my experience I also realized that maintaining plants isn’t just about watering them. Removing dead plant material, reusing it as compose and knowing when fruit is ready to harvest are all important aspects of keeping healthy plants. This can also be connected to my biology lab class as the only part of conducting experiments isn’t just observing materials but to also create ideal environments for the experiments we conduct. For example, heating up or cooling down materials are ways we can create a stable habitat. Overall, volunteering at Vern Community Garden provided more insight to maintaining the health and productivity of an ecosystem while staying resourceful.