As students approach the halfway mark of the semester, the stress of balancing academics, work and a social life can become overwhelming.
The University of Arizona’s Students for Sustainability has found a solution to keep everyone active and mentally healthy: yoga in the UA Community Garden.
“Our goal with Yoga in the Garden is to improve the health of students and staff while spreading the word about our community garden,” said Christian Galindo, chair of SFS’s Environmental Health Committee.
The hour yoga session will begin at 9 a.m. on Oct. 14 in the UA Community Garden, directly north of Highland Garage.
According to Galindo, the event is free to students, faculty and community members and will include refreshments, although attendees are encouraged to bring their own yoga mat.
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Beyond the yoga, the event is meant to spotlight the UA Community Garden, which offers many volunteer opportunities to grow vegetables and maintain the plot of land.
The garden, which was vandalized last semester, has bounced back and is planning a series of new initiatives.
“Our community garden is partnering with the UA Library to create a seed library,” said Preston Kramer, chair of SFS’s Garden Committee.
Once in place, students would be able to go to the UA Library and select a seed to check out or rent. Each seed packet would come with a pamphlet of instructions on how to grow and harvest the plant.
Once students harvest their vegetable or even herbs, they would return some seeds to the library to keep the seed bank alive.
Kramer hopes to have the program up and running by the end of the year. In the meantime, he and others are seeking out funding sources needed and sharing their anticipation and excitement.
Alongside expanding the garden’s reach, the garden itself has spread, adding an herb growing section.
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“Our community garden just began planting herbs and plans to sell them on campus at the farmers market,” said Courtney Pijanowski, co-director of SFS.
According to Pijanowski, this is part of a larger effort to bring affordable, healthy and sustainable food to the campus community.
SFS is also working to incorporate a greater amount of produce into campus farmers markets to accomplish this goal.
With the garden and its new initiatives as a backdrop, the main goal of Yoga in the Garden is to provide a break for students to focus on their health, Galindo said.
Saturday’s yoga event is one of many planned mindfulness events for students and faculty that aim to spotlight sustainability, the efforts of the UA Community Garden and keep stress at bay.
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