EJ JACOBS
Life & Arts Editor
SIERRA MILLS
Chief Copy Editor
Photo by Giulianna Lalomio, Asst. Copy Editor.
When living in Fredonia, many will do anything to ward off the bad weather.
What better way to promote a clear sky than a Garden Gala?
Plants, snacks and second-hand books and clothing were just some of the items that you could have found at the Garden Gala. FREDGrows, Fredonia’s sustainability club, and the ENGL 399 Campus Garden class hosted their annual Garden Gala on Saturday, April 27 as a fundraiser for Greystone Nature Preserve and to celebrate the opening of the campus garden located in the Science Center.
Not only were there garden tours to show people what has been done to the campus garden through the class and FREDGrows, but there were books and clothing swaps, vendors where student artists sell their work, tables with displays from the nature preserve and the other associated clubs. There were also tables with crafts such as rock painting and doing tie-dye with vegetables.
The Garden Gala would not have been possible without the people who helped with it.
One person who was a big help was English professor Dr. Christina Jarvis. When asked about her role in this event, Jarvis said, “My primary role was supporting the FREDGrows and English 399 (Campus Garden) students who organized, promoted and pulled off an incredibly successful event. While I helped with things like room reservations and baking for the event, I really just wanted to help give wings to their ideas. FREDGrows and my campus garden students really deserve all the credit.”
The Garden Gala is a pretty young event. “The first Garden Gala was held in 2021 to celebrate the recently reclaimed campus garden. [The idea] grew out of my first English 399 class [Sustainability Living Laboratory: Campus Garden],” said Jarvis. “Those students also started FREDGrows as a way of maintaining the garden.”
Katherine Studt, president of FREDGrows and social studies adolescence education major, said, “The very first Gala was a celebration of the efforts of the course within the campus garden through the arts. It included rock and flag painting, art showcase, jams and good vibes. While they did not originally call themselves FREDGrows, they still held the same beliefs that are the foundation of the club: to introduce sustainable lifestyles to students and the local community, as well as to provide students with opportunities to connect with the nature around them. FREDGrows was officially established August 20, 2021.”
When looking at the different activities held, it can be assumed that everyone has a different favorite part of the Gala.
Photo by Giulianna Lalomio, Asst. Copy Editor.
Studt said, “I … also love[d] being able to give The Greystone Nature Preserve a donation of all of our proceeds. We made $195 for them through the worm adoption and the raffle. Diane Clark and Bill Moran [owners of the nature preserve] are some of the best people I have ever met. They’ve been a bright light during rough times and have taught me so much about life and our environment. It means the world to me that we were able to give back to them.”
Other students also expressed having a great time at the event.
“I genuinely loved being able to show off the work that the Campus Garden team has done to President Kolison. It was great to see the college’s president show up to the Gala, and it meant a lot to me to be able to show off our hard work to one of the most influential people on campus,” said Claire Patanella, English major and member of the English 399 class. “My classmate Katie Carnevale and I took [President] Kolison through the greenhouse and out to see the plum trees, the to-be-built B Zone (an all-native pollinator garden) and the campus garden. Knowing that the folks up in the administration see the hard work we’re doing to improve the campus and that they genuinely encourage it means the world to me as a student, even if I’ll be gone by May.”
With hopes of promoting sustainability on campus, another Garden Gala will be held around the same time next year, with other sustainability events to be held in the future by FREDGrows.
To be up-to-date with what the club and the campus garden are doing, follow @fredoniagrows and @fredcampusgarden respectively.