Every Tuesday and Thursday, the Sonoma State garden allows students to take a mental health break and work on growing food for students and community members. The garden offers the opportunity for students to volunteer or get class credits and take a break from their busy schedules. 

Known as a hidden gem on campus, the SSU garden has been around since the 1970’s and continues to thrive and flourish with help from students and volunteers alike. The garden is offered to students, the greater SSU community, and the public, which allows for many people of all ages to come and help the community if needed. According to the Sonoma State garden webpage, The garden donates well over 1000 pounds of produce to local food banks such as the Neighbors Organized Against Hunger, which is located on Snyder lane, as well as the Lobo’s Pantry organization on campus that helps students by giving out fresh produce and other goods every week for free with a student ID.

Sonoma State gardens lead steward, Sophia Pruden said, “The Garden has been around since 1970 so having the opportunity to work here and continue its legacy is an honor. I’ve met my closest friends here and found my current career path from my role as the Garden Steward. I’ve also gotten to pass on what I’ve learned to the next steward Eva and watching her grow in this position brings me a lot of joy.”

The garden, while mainly volunteer based, offers a course built around helping the garden grow with hands-on experience. The course, known as Agroecology in Practice (GEP 318) allows for students to work with other students and faculty to build up the garden as well as use some in-class instruction that helps students apply topics learned in Agroecology. The class is a credit/no-credit based course offered year round with half in-class learning and half in-garden learning. The course involves lots of  hands-on practice, such as planting, composting, and more. 

The class, offered for up to four units of credit, lets students take a break from their busy days and work with their hands on something that will hopefully take their minds off the exhausting days or weeks that have transpired over the course of the semester. Many students can turn to this resource as something to look forward to every Tuesday and Thursday as a way to destress and get busy with gardening from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday and 9:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Thursdays.

A senior at SSU, Andrea Vanderschoot said, “What the Sonoma State garden represents (to me) is a sense of community and a group of people willing to take time out of their schedules to volunteer and give back to their community!”

The Tuesday session is with Evangelina Austin while the Thursday session is with the lead garden steward, Sophia Pruden. The sessions are for volunteers who want to help grow the garden and individuals who could use time away from the hectic responsibilities of a college student. The volunteer sessions allow people a sense of gratitude and helpfulness, whether they’re volunteering or receiving credits from the course, as the food all gets donated to either other students in need through Lobo’s pantry or the various food banks throughout Sonoma County. The garden also helps sustain the wide variety of fruits and vegetables offered in The Kitchens on campus. 

  The garden is a great place for students to gather and volunteer for other students or community members in need. It’s a great tool for people to relax and destress every Tuesday and Thursday for a few hours. The hours are spent gardening, composting, and weeding and this hard work pays off throughout the semester as students get to watch the plants they have worked so hard to cultivate grow and prosper. 

The Sonoma State garden Instagram is a great way to connect with the group, and you can learn more about the program by emailing Professor Soto at [email protected].