In September of 2025, I started my first year of college at Mount Holyoke College. While being swept up in the normal orientation festivities, I was given a “Freshman Year Plant,” a small spider plant that I named Spike. The college tradition says that if you keep your plant alive until you graduate, you will become a millionaire. Thus began a four-year mission to be the best plant parent I possibly could be. Over my first year of college, the plant grew to be a foot tall and gained nine friends, all named after the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters. Over the summer, I wanted to do something related to plant care, so when people asked me about my summer plans, it felt obvious to try to find a job that related to that. A frantic summer job search later, with opportunities that fell through, I was left with nothing to do all summer. In lieu of spending my whole summer sewing in my basement, my mother asked me if I wanted to volunteer at Laurelwood Arboretum.
After a few emails and some gathering of gardening supplies, I started volunteering for the outdoor crew at the start of July. From that moment on, I knew this was where I wanted to be. The work was not easy, but the people around me made it an environment where weeding for three hours or moving tree branches was associated with knowledge and community. So when the staff reached out to me and asked me to write an article on why I like to volunteer, the answer seemed obvious. However, the more I thought about it, the more I struggled with how to write down exactly how wonderful everyone there was to me and to the nature there.
The people at the arboretum were always patient and enjoyed educating newer volunteers about the plants and how to best care for them. While I can say I’ve made my fair share of mistakes (sorry, Joan!) it was an environment where I always felt included and accepted.
In my time here, I have learned so much about how to care for my own plants and also how to manage my few garden flowers outside. While the progress is slow and my flower beds are filled with mulch and dead plants, starting the process of fixing them has made a meaningful difference in my life. Now I can say that I know how to prune flowers properly, how to pick out certain weeds, and how to plant flowers and foliage with care, considering how they’ll grow next year. Although the end of summer fast approaches and I will be going back to college again this September, I can look back on the summer happily and say I will definitely be coming back. I also feel it is important as a community to look after this wonderful park we have access to. Most people, including myself, cannot fathom the amount of effort and volunteering that go into keeping the whole garden up and running year after year. I truly wish everyone there the best of luck, and I wish their plants the best.
Looking forward to the newest adventure,
Julie Astley
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