On April 20, Associated Students, Inc. held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the grand opening of their Grow Beach Garden at Friendship Walk. This garden provides fresh produce to students from the ground up.
The Grow Beach Garden is flourished with fresh strawberries, lettuce, kale and more. When the fresh foods are ready for harvest, they are donated to the Beach Pantry to aid student need.
“It’s kind of just a variety we try to plant seasonally so that the harvest that we get really thrives,” ASI communication coordinator Shannon Couley said.
Students were given a tour of the garden to see what kind of fruits and vegetables are grown, which included a tutorial on how to do gardening on their own.
Senior film major Antoinette Flores stated, “It’s cool seeing a garden like this at CSULB.”
Flores never anticipated something like this in the middle of campus. The garden is a big deal for students who are interested in fresh produce being provided at Long Beach State.
“I just really like that the school is actually trying to do something to be sustainable and do something good for the earth,” Flores said.
There was a smaller version of the Grow Beach Garden at the dormitories, but it was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The relocation and expansion of Grow Beach has been in the works for three years, as ASI looked into giving the garden a community drive.
“It has not been an easy journey, but through trial and error, the students working on the Grow Beach Garden have learned what it truly means to care for a garden,” USU Board of Trustees chairman Jeremy Ramos said.
The garden is open to all students, faculty and staff at CSULB looking to learn more about growth and sustainability.
Ramos encourages everyone to stop by at the garden anytime to “cultivate and grow together.”
“Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the success of the Grow Beach Garden and I look forward to seeing all of the incredible things that we can achieve in the future,” Ramos said.