Written and photographed by Mackenzie Davis
The Grand Rapids Community College Garden Club, Staying RootED, hosted their third event of the summer on Wednesday, July 2.
Students were invited to come and paint pots in GRCC’s greenhouse, which will eventually be sold to raise money for the club.
Student Anastasia Benstead shared her excitement for the event while painting her pot.
“I love painting pots and the last one they did was a super small one, so I was really excited for the big full size ones,” Benstead said. “And, since being here, I have now learned that they are all going to be donated back to the club for fundraising efforts, which I also think is really fun. I think it’s … cool community building that GRCC is doing.”
Started as an honors project back in 2021, the garden club has not been active until current club president Lidia Lopez and her friends were nominated for their executive roles at the first meeting held three years later. The inspiration for Lopez to lead the club can be traced back to stories her father would share with her as a child and the goal to further contribute to the community.
“My dad has always talked about his childhood, where he’s always been a farmer and I was always fascinated. And, growing up, I always wanted to do something with gardening,” Lopez said. “Our whole model is ‘hunger free campus’ and (the garden club) is going to help out with our food pantry that we have here at GRCC. That’s one of our main goals is to supply those vegetables to the food pantry for the students.”
The club intends to have more regular meetings during the fall and winter semesters as the college is in full swing. For the summer months, they continue to grow snap peas, tomatoes, dill, cilantro, okra, cucumber and pumpkins in the beds outside the Calkins Science Center. Along with supplying food to the food pantry, they hope to collaborate with student government in the fall by donating their fully grown pumpkins to the pumpkin carving event.
To get involved, go to Staying RootED on Instagram or check out the club on Raider Connect.
When asked why students should go to these events, secretary of the club, Emani Thomas, shared her excitement for the events.
“All of (the events) have been pretty fun. It’s so nice to see different people from the community coming out in the summer. You never know who is going to show up and I have met so many people today,” Thomas said. “Come join Staying Rooted, it’s so much fun, and you will learn so much, and you’ll have a great time!”
The wider implications of this club and their efforts to impact the college can be seen firsthand through the nurturing of their seeds and also the students who attend these events, hoping to find a community, which is no small feat. Lopez’s familial connections to gardening can be felt firsthand through her hopes of what this club could become.
“I would hope that it grows into a community garden. It is for the students and the community and families,” Lopez said. “I would hope for it to grow and for them to feel welcome to come here and pick whatever they want and maybe do some maintenance and water it, maybe. That’s what I hope for.”
