Engaging Through Nature
An Interview with an Ithaca Children’s Garden Volunteer
By Sanjna Das ’21
Growing up, I was always very interested in the natural world and plants in particular — no doubt because of my mom, who happens to be a plant enthusiast. In fact, an entire corner of the dining room is devoted to my mom’s beloved plants, which include a money plant whose vibrant green leaves spill out onto the hardwood floor and a bromeliad. The plants multiply as one ventures to the front garden, which features a sprawling strawberry-colored hibiscus that seems to envelope parts of the pathway to the front door at times and roses in at least five different colors.
While plants and nature have always been close to my heart, they have proved increasingly important during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the beginning of the summer of 2020, I spent quite some time lining the stone steps that lead to the back garden with a number of potted vegetables and herbs. More than the taro leaves, which my mom uses to prepare a roll of sorts in which the leaves are stuffed with a masala and then fried, or the cherry tomatoes, I relish the process of planting. There’s something so incredibly satisfying about breathing in the earthy scent of the soil and of watching a shoot turn into a strong, healthy plant over the span of just months.
Eager to learn more about how gardening and connecting with nature can be united with community-engaged learning experiences, I interviewed Nancy Niu ’22, who studied neurobiology and volunteered at the Ithaca Children’s Garden while a student at Cornell.
Note: Nancy talks about her experiences volunteering during the summer of 2020.
Sanjna: Can you talk a little bit about your involvement with the Ithaca Children’s Garden and how you learned about it?
Nancy: I learned about ICG from their website and initially wanted to get involved because I like gardening myself and I wanted to spend time outdoors during the quarantine last summer. I reached out to ICG and they said that they needed volunteers, so I started helping out. We planted different types of vegetables like corn, beets, spinach, and beans, and we also helped out with weeding and harvesting the produce. Every Monday, the food harvested was donated to Friendship Donation, an organization that collects food from local farms and uses the produce to support the homeless.
I think you touched on this a little bit with the fact that you’re donating the food to homeless shelters, but what are the social issues that the garden works to address? [ICG’s mission is “Connecting children to nature to create a more beautiful, resilient, and just world.”]
Yes, in addition to that, ICG runs a camp for kids to learn about gardening, how to connect with nature, and how to protect the environment.
An important part of community-engaged leadership is collaborating with a community partner. How has your relationship with ICG evolved and how do you think you have grown from it?
I actually met a good friend named Kim through the garden and also became friends with the other people working there. It’s very fun and relaxing to be in the garden, work with others, and see the kids come in, and sometimes I’ll introduce the kids to gardening skills or vegetables. My experience with ICG has also made me want to be more involved in work relating to gardening and public education.
What’s one moment you are proud of and why is it significant? How do you think that moment shaped or will shape future work with the garden?
When I saw that the corn had grown taller than me. Kim and I planted the corn as seeds, and after just a month the corn was taller than me — I felt proud and amazed. Gardening has taught me to be more patient and to appreciate things more. I’ve learned how to care for things and pay attention to what they need. I’ve also started to grow vegetables myself and it’s really fun.
In what ways has your work with the garden shaped your worldview?
It got me interested in gardening and permaculture and has made me appreciate nature more. In the past, I didn’t particularly enjoy walking in the forest or being in nature, but now it’s the place where I feel most relaxed. One day, I want to have my own garden and I hope I can share the happiness of being in nature and growing plants with other people.
There is beauty to be discovered in nature and growing, as Nancy highlights, especially here in Ithaca. In addition, each engagement opportunity is a learning experience, whether that be in discovering something you never knew about yourself or in questioning your assumptions.
In the community-engaged leadership program at the Einhorn Center, we highlight the importance of critical reflection as a tool for not only challenging beliefs and values, but also in shaping future work with a community partner. One formal reflection concept we use is the What — So What — Now What model, which enables us to analyze the significance of certain moments and draw connections between these moments and future social action.
For me personally, the Now Wha” aspect of the model of critical reflection is the most important — yet most challenging — step. With innumerable social issues and ways of bringing others to action, it can be difficult to pick someplace to begin. It doesn’t have to be an earth-shattering or revolutionary call to action though. Even something simple as having your own garden and bringing others together in appreciating nature can be powerful, especially during times like these. Thank you to Nancy for describing her experiences at ICG!
As a student, Sanjna Das ’21 was an Engaged Ambassador with the David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement at Cornell University. In this role, she helped facilitate the Capstone Dialogue of the Community-Engaged Leadership program and develop content for this blog. She loves traveling, the outdoors, writing, science, and art! The Ripple Effect is a space where she can explore the connections between these passions.
