Making a Difference One Plant at a Time
Everybody loves gardens, they are colorful and surround your house with positive vibes. But thanks to the fourth year of a very serious drought, and with Governor Jerry Brown reducing water use by 25%, many plants and lawns are dying. Due to this, many people think we can’t have gardens, but they are wrong.
This past summer, I decided to plant a garden because I saw my lawn turning brown. I researched gardens and realized that planting a drought tolerant garden would be easier to manage and would help the environment.
After sharing my idea with my parents, they also realized it would be very beneficial to have a drought tolerant garden because it would not only lower water bills and reduce water use, but it would also contain attractive plants with less maintenance. So, they supported my idea because they knew it would have a lot of benefits. After countless trips to Home Depot, and a lot of hard work, I had a splendid, vivid garden.
After summer break, I realized that we didn’t have a garden (or many plants) here at Alisal. I am aware that other high schools in Salinas do have gardens. I was bothered by this because Alisal has many areas that could be used for gardens. I looked through the halls and realized that each hall had plant containers with empty or untended plants in them. I often found myself thinking, “Why don’t we use those areas to plant a garden rather than having them take up space?”
A gardening club could beautify our campus while conserving water. It wouldn’t take much to start one, just a group of people and a faculty adviser. The club could ask for donations of plants from places like Home Depot and Orchard Supply. It could also thank the donors by sending them pictures of our garden with a thank you letter. The money could also be fundraised to buy the plants, if necessary. After organizing a club we could finally start planting. Not only will the students and staff enjoy the garden, but visitors will also be very astonished by our colorful garden. By having a drought tolerant garden, the school will be more enjoyable and presentable, and environmentally responsible.
Having a drought tolerant garden would be a very good change for Alisal. Imagine walking through the halls and enjoying how colorful and beautiful your school looks. You can help change the environment just by doing the simplest things like planting a garden.
If you have any interest in helping out your environment, learning about the benefits of drought tolerant gardens, or helping with the gardening club please e-mail me at [email protected] and visit the websites below.
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Luis Rodriguez • Nov 7, 2015 at 3:21 pm
A Garden Club at Alisal High can be a great contribution for the school. Bringing this type of practice to the youth can yield environmentally conscious individuals and could possibly encourage the idea of youth lead initiatives in the community. As a former student, I do recall areas with vegetation that were no tend to and small spaces that could have had small plants installed to provide a better image to the school. I am a avid gardener and I can say that I’ve noticed great mental benefits through this practice such as: patience, understanding, relativity to my environment, meditation, cycle of life, among other things. I support the idea of a Garden Club at Alisal High and hope school officials take into serious consideration what this article expresses and make efforts to make this a a reality.