by the Students of Dr. David Clarke’s HUM124 class

When Dr. Clarke announced that our class would be doing a garden project, I was confused and taken aback. I was excited, as I’ve never really gardened before, but also nervous as to what this project would entail. Now, as we are closing out the semester, I reflect onto the garden project with fond memories. There was something so special about getting out of my dorm room and going into the garden, being able to connect with my peers in person, and feeling the fulfillment of hard work. . . . My peers and I got the opportunity to have in depth conversations about the course material in a casual setting. As an example, I distinctly remember one of my classmates and I weeding and talking about terra preta, which probably wouldn’t have happened if we were exclusively over zoom. It was so beneficial to have those face to face conversations- not only for my understanding of the class material, but also for my mental health and motivation. 

Jessica Nilsen

To have an outlet for physical creation as an element of this class was extremely beneficial, and oftentimes when working I would think about the ways in which we as a human population have worked the land and created productive agricultural earth throughout human history. There is an interconnectedness to physical labor, a familiarity to working with my hands just as my father did growing up on an apple orchard or my ancestors did when they first settled this area (eighth generation things). . . Another layer of connectivity I felt lies in the friendships I made while working in the garden. To have a class of people all working together on a project was a gift and I was excited every Friday to go have those interactions. 

Alana Merrell

 In the Humanities 124 curriculum, we talked about how hunters and gatherers settled down and began creating their own agriculture. It was really interesting to not only learn about gardening agriculture but experience it first-hand. . . . Some things that I really enjoyed about this project were the ability to learn about gardening, being able to get outside, and bonding more with my teacher and classmates. My family lives in a townhouse in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina. Because I live in the city, I have never experienced gardening on such a large scale before. It was a wonderful experience being able to not only learn about gardening but see the results from the work that we did as a class.

Alyssa Harrison

“Terra preta owes its characteristic black color to its weathered charcoal content, and was made by adding a mixture of charcoal, bone, broken pottery, compost and manure to the low fertility Amazonian soil. … Terra preta soils were created by farming communities between 450 BCE and 950 CE.” Wikipedia Article on “Terra Preta”