- May 06, 2026
- By Sala Levin ’10
On a bright spring afternoon, a group of bubbly fifth-graders descended upon a small garden patch outside of University Park Elementary School to get pollinator plants settled in the dirt. They tipped coneflowers out of their plastic pots, wiggled their fingers through the plants’ roots to break them loose, plunged shovels and trowels into the garden bed and patted dirt back onto the native plants before giving them a cool drink of water.
This garden, located just 2 miles south of the University of Maryland, is the home of a new fruit and vegetable garden and pollinator garden, thanks to support from UMD. As students plant and maintain the garden, they’ll learn the basics of plant science, gain insight into the role of pollinators, get physical activity, do good in their community by donating to food banks and develop a relationship with the natural world.
The School of Public Health’s Global FEWture Alliance, supported by a UMD Grand Challenges Grant, has spearheaded the installation of six raised beds and the pollinator garden; an Arts for All grant is funding a UMD student in the creation of a mural for the garden; and a Sustainable Maryland grant, a program housed in the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation is also supporting the initiative.
A main goal of the garden is to “address biophobia—the sense that nature is full of dangers and unfamiliarity that we want to avoid by staying inside on screens,” said Heidi Scott, associate clinical professor of global, environmental, and occupational health, who leads the project for UMD. “I want to combat that prevailing cultural force, which limits our ability to find social pleasure, by gardening together.”
Last year, Scott, who has lived in University Park for six years and is the parent of a current student, learned about a neighbor’s efforts to get a garden built on an unused area of the school’s property. Scott, who’s completed the UMD Extension Master Gardener Program, joined the project and brought the university onboard.
Now, tomatoes, beans, peas, kale and Swiss chard are among the crops growing in the school’s beds. Scott plans to add cilantro, peppers, and other herbs and vegetables that are common in Hispanic food cultures, a nod to the school’s large Hispanic population. Eventually, she hopes, the garden might produce enough food to donate its harvest to local food-insecure families.
Fifth-grade teacher Michelle Labovitz said the garden has brought a sense of community to the school while “letting students experience something they haven’t experienced before,” she said.
Soon, one of the school building’s exterior walls will be home to a mural designed and painted by English and studio art double major Lynne Regules ’26. The mural features a bald eagle (the school’s mascot), and several other birds nestled among plants bursting with zucchini, tomatoes and corn.
“I wanted the kids to see their natural environment reflected in the mural,” said Regules.
Scott’s goal is to expand the garden in coming years. “I have my eye on a couple of other little spaces” around the school, she said. For now, her top priority is encouraging kids to enjoy feeling the sun shine on their faces while they learn how food is grown.
“I want them to say, ‘I actually had a lot of fun getting dirty with fava beans this afternoon. Maybe it was even more fun than poking on my Nintendo.’”
Lynne Regules '26 paints a mural that will adorn a wall facing the garden. (Photo by John T. Consoli)