My interest in community gardens started during the pandemic, when one came to my neighborhood. An empty lot that’s only purpose was to promote clubs, and serving as a landfill for passersby, was becoming Ujaama Garden, and I wanted to be a part of its development. I spent the rest of spring and early summer helping build the garden, removing trash, uprooting, leveling soil, and whatever else they needed me to do to help the garden come to fruition. In my tenure, the thing that amazed me the most was the number of volunteers that would assist the garden. People who lived nearby, volunteers from NYBG, even just people walking past the garden—it became the community hub that I had hoped it would be when I first found out about it. As months went by and the garden became more complete, I wanted to continue the work I was doing in its early stages, which led to me jumping at the opportunity to work with Bronx Green-Up during the summer.

From my first day with the team I knew I made the right decision. The team’s mission encapsulated everything I valued from my time volunteering. We went to multiple gardens across the Bronx to offer assistance, meeting people from across the globe who came together to better their communities. What I ended up enjoying most about this job is seeing gardens across the Bronx that I had no clue existed until then. The Bronx has such a negative connotation to it, it was refreshing to see so much positivity across my home borough. This job quickly became some of the most fulfilling work I’ve ever done, and probably ever will do. If you ever get the chance to work for, with, or even just volunteer with the BGU team, I highly recommend it. You’ll work with people who value both nature and community, all while doing work that will better you and the communities around you.