DELICIA HOLDER
Special to The Leader
The Fredonia Garden is one of the many hidden beauties of Fredonia’s campus. It is located at the back of the
Science Center. Lately, however, no one knows about it and it is hardly recognizable because it hasn’t been properly maintained.
The garden was started by the Student Association Sustainability Committee in spring of 2016, headed by Zachary Beaudoin, among other students. At the time, Beaudoin was a senior at Fredonia and went through a rigorous process to get this garden up and running, which included his forty-page proposal that finally sealed the deal.
When it was finally approved, it was put in the bylaws of the committee that the garden must be maintained by the students. Beaudoin agreed to such measures.
Since Beaudoin left the school, this has not been upheld. As the years have passed, the garden has become overgrown with weeds and other plants.
The Leader contacted the current Sustainability Chair, Anna Gagliano, to uncover why the garden has been in such shape, and what is being done about it now.
Gagliano said that, when she applied for the position as chair, she didn’t know what it included but was later told by the President of SA that it was her committee’s duty to restore and maintain the garden.
“President Connor Aitcheson made it very clear, though, that it was a pretty big task, as it had gone largely ignored since Beaudoin’s graduation,” said Gagliano.
Being tasked with such a job comes with a lot of planning and thought. However, Gagliano, along with the rest of her committee, made a plan.
“After doing some thinking and planning over the summer, we’ve decided it’s time to take back the campus garden and make it a place to enjoy again,” said Gagliano.
Gagliano and the members of the sustainability committee took to the dirt on Sunday and returned it to a clean and manageable state.
The volunteers cleared overgrown plants, dismantled the broken chicken wire fence and prepped the garden for winter.
“The garden will be left alone until the spring, when we plan to start growing again with plants that we’ll be starting in the greenhouse over winter break,” Gagliano said.