Despite ample funding, a sizeable budget was not enough to keep Bayboro Garden flourishing over the summer.
The garden became neglected because former Gardening Club president, Christian Coffey uprooted and left no one in charge. Now those still involved in the club are working overtime to restore it, with twice weekly meetings and the possibility of a third.
The club started out on the right foot. Student Government Senator James Scott believes the most important part of a club or a project is the infrastructure, “the people, management and leadership.”
“Coffey stepped up and committed,” Scott said. Then he left with a week’s notice, and as a result the garden and the club suffered.
“I was devastated,” said Scott, who served as SG president last year while the club was getting the garden up and running.
During spring 2011, Student Government created Bill S11-019-AL, and allocated $4,450 from the OCO and Miscellaneous account, in addition to an earlier original allocation to build the garden. Requests for funding a greenhouse for the garden were also addressed.
“The idea [of a greenhouse] itself is good, but the problem is the Gardening Club just started and we are concerned with how much money we’ve already given them,” said then Senator Diana Cabili in a March 3 Senate General Assembly meeting, according to minutes from the meeting.
“It takes a lot of people and time to maintain a garden of such size, and during the summer when most of the members are absent, it is hard to keep beautiful and pristine,” said Luke Hoerner, the current Gardening Club president.
Scott believes it is unfair to say the garden club has already failed because of the circumstances.
There were no leadership positions arranged before Coffey left, and now he is no longer a USFSP student, with no official ties to the club or the university.
It took almost a month for SG to approve the bill for the garden, and two months to plan.
“It was such a high cost, we couldn’t just throw money at it,” Scott said.
As for funding for this year’s garden club, SG will review the requested budget in a few weeks.
“I have requested about $5,000 for the entire fiscal year to do events and upkeep the garden,” Hoerner said.
One of the goals of the Bayboro Garden is to use it as an educational tool for elementary school children. This year’s plans include “renting” out spaces—free for students, but students are required to bring their own plants or seeds.
Despite the decline in summer gardening activities, Scott sticks to his decision to approve the original bill.
He hopes the senators will not blame the club for the neglect and “they will hold the right people accountable,” Scott said.
“I have no regret for doing what we did,” he said. He believes in the project because it is something that will be used as an educational tool.
Photos by Jen Clanton
I would like to address some of the information in your article and request that you print a retraction.
The first “fact” that you include in your article “Christian Coffey uprooted and left no one in charge” is slanderous on my character and entirely untrue. Roughly a month prior to my entirely necessary but inconvenient departure, I informed the Gardening Club’s members that I would no longer be able to serve as their president. At this time I began taking the steps necessary to ensure that club would have a strong and continuous leadership team.
Lucas Hoerner was and is the most capable, knowledgeable, and dedicated person for the job. He has more organization, and botanical background than any of the other candidates. I was pleased when the Gardening Club’s members agreed with my thinking and voted to instate him as their new president. He is entirely correct when he states “It takes a lot of people and time to maintain a garden of such size, and during the summer when most of the members are absent, it is hard to keep beautiful and pristine,” and I would lay no blame to him for any imperfection in the garden’s appearance. Like most clubs on campus, involvement declines during the summer semester and maintaining a garden of that size with a very limited number of hands is difficult.
Fall has come, and the involvement in the garden is higher than ever which is apparent in its new restoration, and an increased amount of activity on their facebook page. And I wish them the best in their endeavors.
As for this slanted article, I should hope that a retraction is printed along with an apology. Multiple forms of contact information were readily available to you on both Blackboard, and the Gardening Club’s website. There is no reason for neglecting to contact me before attempting to write false statements about me in such a public manner.
And may I ask, is the Crow’s Nest active during the summer? And what of your recent change in leadership, has it caused you any issues thus far?
Sincerely,
Christian Coffey
Every garden gets overgrown in the summer in Florida. Please realize that because of rain and sun, weeds flourish and because of the oppressive heat, most gardeners just let it! Ask ANY Florida gardener.
Two meetings a week is good for a gardening club. The community section of the garden must be watered everyday, weeds must be pulled two-three times a week, harvesting should be daily when things start ripening.
You can’t look at a gardening club like a sport club. It takes a lot more patience and time than you think. Food doesn’t just magically arrive in a truck at the grocery store. It is toiled over by farmers, enriched, watered and cared for EVERYDAY OF THE WEEK.
I don’t know much about the club(yet) but I know the third meeting was addressed because I am a Tampa USF student wishing to come, but I have classes during the week. There is a lot of interest in this garden, it is beautiful.
As for your pictures, I understand that was the current state of the garden when you wrote the article, but my garden looks like that. My Seminole Heights Community’s garden looks like that. My neighbor’s garden down the street looks like that!
Its right before Fall planting after all!
In short, gardening is more complicated than it looks. My argument is against your claiming it was abandoned. Every garden gets neglected in Florida summer heat plus you can only plant at specific times(Jan/Feb, Aug/Sept). Please do more research before you paint others in a bad light.