Club Grow’s new season of growth
When Angel Loaiz, a former member of Club Grow, first stepped into the gardening club on campus, he was hoping to find a community that he could connect with. “I was looking at the club to branch out and meet new people to work on gardening with,” said Loaiz.
Instead, he discovered a club with weak leadership and no sense of direction. “I was confused on who is who since nothing is organized,” said Loaiz.
Despite the challenges that Club Grow faced, the new semester means a new club president, Ryan Weeth, who has stepped in with ideas on how to make the club thrive again.
After many semesters of decline, Club Grow at Santa Monica College (SMC), is making a comeback. Club Grow is a way for like-minded students to collaborate on their interest in hands-on gardening, but the club struggled with dwindling membership and “no real leadership,” said Angel Loaiz, after the 2020 pandemic.
With a new club president, Club Grow is working to rebuild its garden, recruit new members and implement new events that create student engagement and bring the club back to life.
Prior to the 2020 pandemic that restricted interactions at the garden, Club Grow was thriving with students and hosted many events throughout the year. There were community teaching events that taught students how to raise a plant with a plot of land, as well as other campuswide eco-friendly events promoting gardening.
But with older students graduating, the club became more dormant and student interest began to wilt.
“It’s not a big garden, but it is still a place to manage,” said Ryan Weeth, the new Club Grow President as of this semester. Weeth hopes to bring in a new season for the gardening club by hosting potlucks at the garden using their own produce and by planning more campuswide gardening events that he hopes will draw in students.
He wants to rebuild past club traditions that fostered the community on campus. “I’m looking back at what the club did, and trying to see how we can emulate that,” said Weeth.
Early into this semester, club meetings have become more involved in the garden, and it shows with the increase of new members. “It felt very welcoming, unlike other clubs I’ve been a part of,” said Katlyn Perez, a new member who joined this semester.
This is the club’s effort to bring members, and even regular students passing by, together, and build a new community around the garden. “If you poke your head through or walk by, we’ll try to include you into the club,” said Weeth.
Some Club Grow members have admitted that there is room for improvement: “There are some issues,” said Perez.
Still, new club members are committed to improving the club by using art made by members to promote the garden and are thinking of ways to help with organizing events. “I hope me being here will help with that issue,” said Perez.