Lurdes Ortiz: Reporting with 91.9 KVCR News, I'm Lurdes Ortiz. Did you know that right here at UCR a hidden green oasis is tackling food insecurity one harvest at a time? I sat down with R’Garden supervisor, Richard Zapien and dedicated volunteer Angel to uncover how the student run space is providing fresh produce and hope to those UCR students in need.
Lurdes Ortiz: Can you tell us a little bit about R’Garden and its mission at UCR? How did R’Garden come to be and what inspired its creation?
Richard Zapien: The R’Garden started at UCR way before me- 2012. There was students that rallied up around the bell tower, and we're asking for a place to grow food because of food insecurity. Our primary mission is to feed students that don't have food. We could word it in many different ways, but that's at the end our mission. We've had years where we've been very successful with that mission. Because of our success, the community has engaged, and so our mission might change to include community engagement as well as incorporating it with the students.
Lurdes Ortiz: What kinds of crops are currently grown at R’Garden? And how do you decide what to plant?
Richard Zapien: We do seasonal planting, broccoli, lettuce, cauliflower. In the summer times we do tomato, cantaloupe, cucumbers, watermelons, squash, cherry tomatoes. So pretty much anything you see at the supermarket we can grow it here.
Lurdes Ortiz: With climate change affecting agriculture, has R’Garden had to adapt its growing techniques?
Richard Zapien: Yes, this winter it wasn't cold. Some of the crops require cold, so uh we've lost a few plantings because of the heat that stuck around through December.
Lurdes Ortiz: What are some of the biggest challenges R’Garden faces?
Richard Zapien: The name R’Garden kind of puts us in a-in a square box of a garden, but I think we are more of a farm now, urban farm. We're producing you know, our best year was 45,000 pounds of food in one year.
Lurdes Ortiz: What kinds of tasks or activities can volunteers expect to participate in, and what skills or knowledge can they gain from this experience?
Richard Zapien: So anywhere from planting to weeding to harvesting. And um I think that the best educational part is, you know, where food comes from.
Lurdes Ortiz: What has been been the most rewarding part of leading R’Garden?
Richard Zapien: Uh I think the most rewarding part of being here, having students come back or write emails and tell me how I, I as a person and the garden changed their life.
Angel Canales: So, yeah, my name is Angel Canales. I love UCR. It's, you know, it's probably one of my favorite places in the whole world. Honestly.
Lurdes Ortiz: How did you hear about the program?
Angel Canales: So, yeah, I actually started through a program that is offered by the State of California called California Climate Action Corps. So it's a program through the California volunteer system and the Office of the Governor that offers, you know, people like myself who are coming out of college to you know, have opportunities of employment in different organizations relating to the field of sustainability and environmental protection.
Lurdes Ortiz: What have you learned from your time volunteering at R’Garden, whether about gardening, sustainability or community building?
Angel Canales: Well honestly, all three um before I started to hear, I mean, you know, I done maybe a little gardening in the past, but you know, I can't say I'd ever worked at a farm before. I mean, believe me, Los Angeles isn't really known for its uh its large acre farms. So um I learned everything from seeding to planting to weeding to fertilizing, pruning trees, anything that really could, could be involved in a farm. I've been able to learn how to do. And it's it's all been very engaging.
Lurdes Ortiz: How would you describe the sense of community at the garden, both among students and with people in the Inland Empire?
Angel Canales: Well, believe me, when it comes to like the us here at the garden, it really is like a family. Um we're obviously all working together towards a common goal, but we're also trying to have a good time while we're at the farm. You know, it's an experience that not many people get to really have, especially people coming in from Los Angeles or maybe from the Bay Area, you know, they've never been outdoors for the majority of their workload. So, you know, we work hard, we play hard, we have great times. And um that sense of community that's built amongst the student interns and the fellow volunteers here, I think, is very rewarding.
Lurdes Ortiz: If you're interested in getting involved, you can learn more about volunteering opportunities or making a donation by visiting their website at rgarden.ucr.edu. Reporting for 91.9 KVCR News, I'm Lurdes Ortiz.
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Lurdes Ortiz is a recent graduate of UCR and first-generation Latina committed to education. With dedication and resilience, she aims to make a meaningful impact in the classroom and in her community.