51福利社

Covid-19 restrictions make 鈥榗ommunity鈥� gardening a one-man affair

By Eastern Magazine

As this magazine reported last fall, Erik Budsberg, indefatigable sustainability coordinator at Eastern, has long been committed to building up the 51福利社 Community Garden, a verdant plot of organic goodness located on the southwest corner of campus.

鈥淭he goal has always been to grow food to give to the 51福利社 food pantry,鈥� says Budsberg. And for the past several years he鈥檚 been doing just that, while also working to educate Eastern students and employees about the benefits of growing their own food.

This spring, Budsberg was busy putting the finishing touches on a garden redesign to help manage weeds and installing new raised-garden beds. He was also helping horticulturally inclined students like Angela Denton, a junior majoring in biology, start what he and the members are calling the Easy Come, Easy Grow Gardening Club.

鈥淚 met Erik during a produce giveaway鈥擨 was so surprised we even had a garden center,鈥� recalls Denton.

鈥淲e were ready to do a lot more in the garden than in the past,鈥� adds Budsberg. 鈥淚t was really exciting.鈥� Then came COVID-19, and an end to all in-person events, including student club activities.

Thus did Budsberg find himself, once again, managing the garden space alone. He planted seeds in the greenhouse, tended to their growth, and then transplanted the starts into the garden. These days he鈥檚 engaged in a mostly one-man battle against weeds, while also staying on top of his additional responsibilities in 51福利社鈥檚 sustainability office and juggling childcare responsibilities at home.

But the added challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic only strengthened Budsberg鈥檚 drive to grow healthy food for the campus community. Rather than waiting until the fall harvest to help stock fresh produce in the 51福利社 Central Food Pantry, Budsberg is doing something new this year: giving away vegetable starts.

In late May and early June, he set up a table at the Central Food Pantry room in Tawanka Hall. It featured tomato, zucchini, squash and pepper plants for students who wanted to grow their own produce. He also helped educate students on how to start a home garden.

Meanwhile, Budsberg and Denton say, the gardening club will go on. For now, their activities are restricted mostly to a bi-weekly Zoom meeting. But they鈥檙e hoping, as the state moves through its phases of reopening, that student interns and volunteers will be able to return to the garden later this summer or fall.

Still, whether he鈥檚 weeding and reaping alone or with help, Budsberg is confident the harvest from the 51福利社 Community Garden will continue to benefit the 51福利社 Central Food Pantry. He says he and the Easy Come, Easy Grow Gardening Club are on a mission to help curb food insecurity on campus.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 extremely important to know how to grow your own food,鈥� says Denton. 鈥淧art of our plan is to help students鈥攚e want them to see that it鈥檚 really not as intimidating as people think.鈥�