I have driven past the GRIT garden many times over the years, but never realized what it was until we paid it a visit for class.
I have tried, unsuccessfully, to start my own small garden many times in Utah, and so it was validating to hear that some of the times it was not my fault. The soil in Utah is hard to plant in, and I think I have been trying to grow some of the wrong things most of the times I tried. We also moved around a lot, and so starting over gets exhausting and giving up on a garden is much easier with kids.
Learning about the natural pesticides (marigolds) and planting certain crops together so that they help each other, was so much good information to learn. While I now live in a small townhome with a concrete backyard (no room for a garden), I do have a sister with a big garden with whom I will share my newfound wisdom. I love the fact that there are opportunities to volunteer in the GRIT garden for those of us who do not have a garden at home anymore, or for those who may want to benefit from the free food that comes out of the garden each week. While students are not required to spend their time in the garden in exchange for the free food, they are more than welcome to come learn some tips and tricks for their own future gardens.
Seeing the GRIT garden was a great addition for this class as food is a major part of our environment. Knowing where our food comes from, how it has been processed, which chemicals have been used, how many hands/companies were involved before we purchase it, and what kind of damage it has done to our environment in the meantime, is all part of environmental sociology. Taking the middle man (or in some cases many middle men) out, and growing your own produce, or going to the farmers market and supporting those local to you by buying produce from them, can eliminate some of those environmental concerns. Food, and knowing where it comes from, or which company is responsible for it, has always been a big thing for me. I try to be very conscious of what I eat. I am picky about where I shop, and seldom eat animal products because of countless books and documentaries I have read and seen about the processes that go on there. Our country's consumption of meat is outrageous, and don’t even get me started on what that industry adds to the effects on the environment, because that is a soap box I will never get down from.
[Paper written for SOC 3520 class UVU Fall 2024]
Amy Brouwer . 2024 . All Right Reserved
