Student-grown flowers, herbs and vegetables now occupy numerous dorm window sills and apartment living rooms after over 100 were adopted at the 16th Annual Strawberry Festival on May 2.
The plants, which were grown by students through a hands-on, gardening-focused environmental studies course, have made a long journey since being first planted in January and February. For the first time, plants were able to be reserved online with a suggested donation amount. From atomic grape tomatoes to drama queen poppies, there were 63 plants to choose from, and many were sold out before the festival started.
Elon Community Garden manager and senior Sam Hinton said the students in the environmental studies course have worked hard all semester to prepare. ENS2210: Garden Studio focuses on the Strawberry Festival in the spring and the Pumpkin Festival in the fall.
“It takes a lot of different pieces, but we’re grateful to have students that work super super hard to put this all together,” Hinton said. “We have a class of 20 people and every single one of them is involved. It’s really a team effort.”
The Elon Community Garden was packed with students and community members all afternoon. Tables promoting student programs and organizations, offering strawberry drinks, and selling baked goods and handmade jewelry were present. Still, the largest pull by far was the strawberry ice cream.
The Strawberry Festival fell during Collegiate Recovery Week this year. Senior James Hemmingway stood at a t-shirt tie-dying table that garnered a lot of smiles, which is exactly what he was looking for. As president of Phoenix Free, Elon’s collegiate recovery program that supports a substance-free lifestyle, he said the most important thing to him was people knowing the meaning behind his message. The free t-shirts for attendees to tie-dye sported the phrase “one day at a time.”
“I think the message, although it is recovery-related, can apply to everybody,” Hemmingway said. “I hope that students will be able to see that as a symbol of being approachable.”
Hemmingway said events such as the Strawberry Festival allow students to witness growth and see the importance of nature to the spirit, which connects to student engagement with Phoenix Free.
“Nature is so healing to people,” Hemmingway said. “Getting outside, as much as it can feel silly sometimes to be like the cure-all, it really does help.”