Tucked between the Eppley Recreation Center and the School of Public Health, UMD’s Community Learning Garden provides more than green space.
The garden, a student-run club with support from the Institute of Applied Agriculture (IAA) and the UMD Arboretum & Botanical Garden, operates as a hands-on learning environment focused on sustainability, nutrition and community.
On a warm afternoon, students can be seen sitting among rows of leafy greens, some reviewing notes and others simply taking a break from their workload.
“It’s a really beautiful place to be,” said Meredith Epstein, the garden manager and an IAA principal lecturer and faculty advisor. “Sometimes I’ll find people just hanging out there studying because it’s a peaceful place.”
Beyond its rows of vegetables and herbs, the garden offers a chance to step outside, slow down and reconnect.
Epstein said that the experience promotes physical activity and offers “mental health benefits” through time spent outdoors and engaging with living things.
The space is more than a retreat. It is also a place where learning happens in real time. The garden, often called the CLG, is designed to be a place where students, faculty and staff can engage in experiential education.
“It’s considered a living classroom,” said Laila Michael, a sophomore studying ornamental horticulture.
Through volunteer work, workshops, classes and independent projects, participants learn about environmental management, agricultural sustainability and healthy eating.
Michael began working in the garden to bring her coursework to life.
“I thought it would be a good opportunity to apply what I’ve learned in classes in a real-world setting,” she said.
Students participate in food systems by planting crops, maintaining beds and growing produce using sustainable practices.
All the food harvested is donated to the UMD Campus Pantry, connecting the garden’s educational mission with direct community support.
“I think one of the most effective ways is to teach through cooking and eating,” Epstein said.
Through its partnership with the pantry, some of the garden’s produce is used in a teaching kitchen space where students learn to prepare simple, healthy meals.
Epstein said she hopes to expand that connection in the future by launching a “Terrapin Community Kitchen,” building on the pantry’s kitchen model and extending its impact to the north campus.
Students can get involved through the CLG’s Instagram (@umdclgarden), TerpLink or its official website, where weekly volunteer hours and events are posted. No experience is required, and students can join open work sessions and workshops.