Xavier volunteers work to expand community garden
March 16, 2023
Often underfunded, Historically Black Colleges and Universities have struggled to expand and beautify their campus to the same extent that predominantly white institutions (PWIs) have.
In honor of Black History Month, Home Depot pledged to fill this need with its annual Retool Your School Program, offering a share of over $500,000 to select HBCU campuses. Xavier students have signed up to support one project to enhance the Gert Town community to build out the campus garden.
“It’s important that we get this grant,” said Randall Lee, a senior biology pre-medicine student. “Xavier is surrounded by a food desert so it’s important to keep Gumbo Garden expanding to improve the health of its community members. We need to vote as much as we can,” Lee added.
Gert Town is also a community that struggles with access to fresh and cost-friendly produce. Through service, Xavier’s Gumbo Garden was able to supply the neighboring residents with over 500 pounds of produce last Thanksgiving, working to mend the history of distrust between the campus and the neighborhood residents. Gert Town residents are excited for the possibilities the grant could bring.
“A lot of people out here like gardening,” said Gert Town resident, Maria Myles. “We’re looking forward to more visibility of the garden as well. More signs and flyers around the neighborhood,” Myles added.
Xavier students regularly dictate hours to the Gumbo Garden, assisting with weeding, planting, and cleaning through the seasons. Many said they were excited about the potential build-out of this beloved garden and to be a part of the change.
“It’s important because there are a lot of health disparities. If we can grow our own food, we can decrease the toxins that are in the soil and lead to overall better health,” said Chamberlain Newman, a sophomore, biology pre-medicine major.
Xavier’s social inclusion justice officer and head cheer coach, Glenn Caston, is leading the effort to earn the Retool Your School grant. The voting process for this grant is a community effort, he said. Xavier’s students showed their school spirit online to vote their campus in before the March 26 deadline.
Since 2009, Home Depot’s “Retool Your School” campaign has only donated to the top ten HBCUs with the most votes from their campus community. To vote for their campus, students, faculty, and community members repost their school’s respective hashtags on social platforms such as TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Voting also takes place on Home Depot’s Retool Your School website. During the week of March 11, Xavier ranked at number 16 in the second cluster of schools, with 11,461 votes. The effort, organizers said, needed all hands on deck.
Caston shared he proposed that the funds be used to build an outdoor kitchen, expand the garden beds, fund gardening supplies as well as develop fellowship programs for students.
“When you work hard for something, you appreciate it more. It’ll give us more pride in our community, in our environment, in our neighborhood,” Newman added.
