Garden Volunteering -- Please Join Us!
Padrón Campus is urban and working to grow our garden presence. There are now three main green spaces on campus as well as demonstration aquaponics work indoors and out. Please join us in these efforts!
Every Wednesday
1:30pm - 3:30pm
Meet at Padron Campus Zen Garden
Hosted by the Earth Ethics Institute
You're invited to soak in some sun, relish in vibrant shades of green, and beautify the garden. We will be relaxing in nature while weeding, trimming, planting, and doing some renovations to revitalize the Zen Garden. Come learn how to use AI Plant ID apps to get insights on native plant species, their pollinators, and the caretaking they need. You may even take home some of our harvest vegetables, and plant cuttings to grow plants in your backyard!
This is an opportunity to earn up to 2 volunteer service hours per session and score points for the Civic Action Scorecard.
ES-1: Discover the Native Plants in Your Community (5 points)
ES-2: Plant a South Florida Native Plant Species and Maintain it for at least 3 months (15 points)
ES-11: Clean Up Trash in Your Neighborhood, at a Public Park, or Near the Water (5 points)
ES-18A: Attend or Participate in an MDC or Community-led experience relating to Environment & Sustainability (10 points)
David McGuirk Memorial Zen Garden
Located across from the employee parking lot (SW 6th Street)
Associate Professor David McGuirk (English, Literature and Sociology), who passed away in 2014, was passionate about environmental sustainability. Along with leading Earth Day and Sustainability Committee activities at Padrón Campus, he assisted faculty and staff in developing co-curricular learning opportunities for students in sustainability and Earth Literacy, as well as with efforts to create and maintain a ‘green’ campus environment.
The Zen Garden contains primarily plants native to our region, but it also includes some food crops (collard greens, tomatoes, peppers, etc) -- including an aquaponics demonstration system.
(firebush)
(coontie cycad)
(cranberry hibiscus)
(wild coffee)
MLK Butterfly Garden
Located at the corner of SW 6th Street and SW 25th Avenue (inside the employee parking lot)
Student, faculty and staff created this garden in January 2022 as a way to remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and help to improve the campus environment. The garden contains primarily plants that are native to our region.
- Reading List: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Environment
- Four ways Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. left his mark on the environmental movement
- Remembering MLK: The Environmental Justice Activist (video - one hour)
(Blue Porterweed)
(Goldenrod)
(Locustberry)
(Sea Torchwood)
UrbanaSpace (Pine Rocklands Habitat)
Located at the corner of SW 6th Street and SW 25th Avenue.
Pine rocklands are a globally imperiled ecosystem native to Southeast Florida, with plant and animal species found nowhere else. After winning a Public Space Challenge offered by The Miami Foundation, Padrón Campus transformed part of its landscaping into pine rockland habitat.
Garden Volunteering Team Leaders
Thriving with Nature: Gardening is Good for Health & Well-Being