Cultivating Relationships Through Gardening

UTA Libraries staff members took some time out of their day to cultivate plants and grow relationships as they worked together at the libraries' garden plot on March 14.  

Milaun Murry, an experiential learning librarian, stated that this type of activity brings people together so that they can learn from one another.  

"I really enjoyed being able to spend time at the garden with other library staff," Milaun said. "It was interesting to hear about other people's gardening backgrounds and learn some fun tips. I didn't know how to tell a grub from a worm or the impact that grubs could have in our plot until another colleague brought it up." 

Milaun stated it was refreshing to be able to trade knowledge in this type of environment and get to know people better. She looks forward to seeing what the garden will produce in the future. 

The UTA website states that the organic Community Garden at UT Arlington, built in collaboration with the City of Arlington, has become a public green space for families, community members, and garden enthusiasts. The vegetables grown from the garden plot are used to educate students about healthy eating and living.  

Lainie Allen, a serials specialist, stated that getting the chance to work with plants helps to enrich the soul. She hopes this garden plot allows people to learn about the joy of growing their own food. 

"I was excited by the opportunity to visit the library garden plot. It was a very nice day," Lainie said. "It might be weird, but I talk to my own plants at home, so my favorite part was giving the plants some positive words of encouragement before planting them in the ground." 

Paul Carlile, a FabLab technician, shared the same thoughts expressed by Milaun and Lainie about what the garden plot provides people. 

"I thought it was nice to get out and do something more informal with other members of the library team," Paul said. "I'm not sure I have a favorite moment (from today), but my biggest takeaway was learning about what some of the different members of the community garden were growing." 

To learn more about the organic Community Garden at UT Arlington online at https://sustainability.uta.edu/community-garden-and-composting/ or at http://bit.ly/40ub5fj.  

- Madhav Datt, Marketing and Communications student assistant contributed to this story.