Jeremiah 29:5 says, “Build us houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens and eat the fruit of them.” Grand Canyon University Gardening Club President Jeremy Fuentes follows this commandment as he wheels his wagon up to the campus garden where students are found sitting leisurely in the pleasant atmosphere, surrounded by life in the form of plants, fruit trees, and flower beds. Fuentes puts on his apron and gloves in preparation for the weekly meeting as students gradually show up to begin their weekly activities of pulling weeds, watering plants, and harvesting and planting new crops for their garden bed.
Fuentes expresses his passion and reasoning for starting this new on-campus club. “I’m a little bit in love with everyone that I meet. I come across someone new and there’s something about them that just infatuates me. I’m just in love with the human race. I just love people.”
Over the course of the semester, the Gardening Club has planted the Japanese root vegetable Kohlrabi, beets, radishes, oregano, broccoli, leeks, Swiss chard, arugula, spinach, sugar peas, red beans, and even wildflowers. Any extra vegetation and herbs are placed in a box near the entrance of the garden for students to take, free of charge.
Research by the National Center for Biotechnology Information shows that high consumption of vegetables is associated with a lower risk of depression and anxiety. At the GCU garden, students can plant specific to their own diets and favored foods. Student garden worker Savannah Everett chooses to grow dill and green onions as she frequently uses these vegetables in her cooking and can avoid buying them when grocery shopping.
The GCU campus garden is maintained by the Outdoor Recreation Club, and community is one of the main attractions. The garden is a common meeting place for students to relax and catch up with one another, or work on their schoolwork with company. This social interaction allows students to get to know each other and even assists in bettering their mental health.
Joe Sempik, a researcher at the Centre for Child and Family Research at Loughborough University, finds that social and therapeutic horticulture provides opportunities for social contact, which can be valuable for those with mental health problems. At the GCU Gardening Club, students mingle with each other and share their excitement for gardening and getting their hands dirty.
Everett enjoys the social interaction in the garden, “I can be kind of a chatterbox when I’m here. When we get started on a project it’s fun to be working and talking at the same time.”
A scientific study done by Robert W. Moeller and Martin Seehuus suggests that improving the social skills of students should be considered by colleges to reduce mental health burdens such as depression and anxiety.
Along with making great connections, gardening gives GCU students a sense of purpose. “There’s a lot of pride in what we do, we build things. I built this bench that we’re sitting on.” Everett says. Furniture made from scratch, paintings along the sides of the garden beds, and shaded sitting areas give the GCU campus garden its character and create a pleasing atmosphere.
Nicholas Rudgear, a GCU student counselor, explains other benefits on mental health, “With gardening, you’re taking care of something, you’re active… just being outside and getting sunlight can be helpful, particularly for depression. Sometimes people don’t have enough vitamin D.”
While soaking in the sunlight, gardening can also provide students with grounding therapy, which is a technique that involves connecting yourself to the ground. This helps relieve anxiety and depression. Another study by the National Library of Medicine shows that one hour of grounding therapy can improve mood. Walking outside barefoot, lying on the ground, submersing in water, or gardening each allow for direct contact with the ground.
Along with decorating personal spaces with plants, Rudgear encourages students to visit the campus garden to help better their mental health and has talked with campus recreation about working with Student Care to be more officially connected to the garden.
The GCU campus garden is north of the Agave Apartments and is open to all students. Garden bed plots cost $20 a semester. Happy gardening!