The Spring Day of Service was Saturday April 27, 2019. Lots of students from the University of Massachusetts Boston showed up to do their part on this day, separating into different groups that went into different places throughout Boston. My group went to the Urban Farming Institute in Mattapan. Other places that were visited were the Franklin Park Zoo, Codman Square, and more.
The 16 volunteers in our group separated again and were assigned to different tasks. Comprising eight students, my group’s assignment was to plant lettuce, beets, kale and cilantro. Another group of four was set to take care of weeding in another area of soil, and then the last group of four was moving mulch to cover the area we walked on to even it out.
We first talked and learned about the farm, how they first started the business, and what they do today to keep it around in the city, running efficiently and effectively. It is a non-profit organization that relies on volunteers and a small team of under 10 people who are paid. The amount of training and work going into this field is so rigorous that it can be difficult to train people and overall not worth it without a semi-regular volunteer schedule. It was interesting to learn about the dynamic that they have going on there, and how they put out an ethically sustainable product into the community, giving more opportunities for people around us to support local businesses. They sell at local farmers markets, and to about 10 different restaurants surrounding the area as well. The speaker also told us they keep things to be at a reasonably comparable price to what they sell at grocery stores nearby.
The best part was doing the actual volunteer work. Though it wasn’t a great day weather wise—freezing wind and some occasional rain—it still was enjoyable to do something for the community. We went off into pairs and were able to just hangout and talk as we worked in the soil. One person would take out each seed or bud of their container and drop them into the beds, and the other would “tuck it in” by pushing the soil around it into an even surface so the plant could grow successfully. I personally have never even tried gardening, not for any reason other than it’s just never been something that was offered or brought up to me. With that said, it was easy to get the hang of it, even as a newbie, and the staff were very helpful with any questions we had.
Because we had a fairly large group, we got through our work at a good pace. We even ended up finishing early, so we were able to relax a bit before heading back to campus to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of OSLCE. Once we did get back to school, there was a huge celebration for the volunteer work that has been done this year and the past decade. There were speakers to talk about different groups we offer at UMass Boston that go hand and hand with this type of generous field of work. It was great to see what a difference our school has made on the community, just out of pure kindness in their hearts. It shows you there are still good people in the world, and really great people and groups on the same campus you’re on!
