Tiana Steward

Dover, Del. – Today, September 14^th, 2023, Delaware State University Downtown Campus welcomed student volunteers to come out and help the Downtown Community Garden. 

The DSU Downtown Community Garden is located behind Row Hall at the DSU Downtown campus. The garden displays 6 raised beds, an herb plot, a compost bin, and a native pollinator plant pathway. There are also paintings wrapped around the crops from local artists in the community. 

Students met with Megan Pleasanton, the manager of the DSU Downtown Garden, and Bernard Daniel 2^nd, a former 2021 graduate of Delaware State University, who currently is a partner at the community garden.

“I just think it’s a great opportunity to be able to educate the people and the students of our campus and to be able to give back to the community in the form of beautification, as well as fresh vegetables and herbs, and teaching people how to grow them and how to use them,” exclaimed Pleasanton, who has been a part of the Downtown Garden for two years now.

Today, students were able to transform the garden and allow it to reflect its true beauty. They were seen snipping weeds, picking crops, and even cleaning up the area around the garden. 

When asked how the Downtown Garden could impact DSU students, Daniel stated “I think it will teach them a valuable skill in learning how to garden, it teaches them the value of patience, diligence, and I think it is a good team building exercise.” Daniel has now been a part of the Downtown Garden for about a year and a half.

After a successful morning of gardening, students were given herbs such as parsley, rosemary, oregano, and mint to take home for themselves. Not only today are students given a chance to take home goods, but the Community Garden encourages people to also welcome themselves during the Holiday seasons.

Daniel was asked his expectations of the garden for the academic semester, “I think it’s going to be pretty good, I think it will be ready, especially for the Thanksgiving break, we will be planting collard greens, broccoli, and kale, so if anyone wants to take anything home to their families, they are more than welcome to.”

Pleasanton was also asked about her expectations and she stated, “I hope that we are able to continue to grow our cold crops, we got broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and collards growing. So, hopefully, we will be able to give back to the community and teach students how to grow the crops substantially.”

The campus community is always advised to stop by the Downtown Community Garden and lend a helping hand!