Name of Organization: Scholars Arboretum Service Events Site of Service: Symons Hall Date of Service Event: October 24, 2025
For my excursion, I volunteered at the Scholars Arboretum Service Events. This event was part of a Scholars-wide initiative to complete one hundred service hours through gardening events. Upon completion of that goal, a tree was to be planted in the Cambridge Community to celebrate. I found this opportunity through my email, and I was excited to partake in the Scholars community and work to improve our environment on campus.
Our collective goal was to maintain the planting beds outside of Symons Hall and protect the species within them from invasive weeds. On this specific site, many of the bushes and trees intended to occupy the space were being challenged and potentially outcompeted by weeds growing alongside them. As such, we had to remove those invasive species to ensure that the native plants were able to get the resources and nutrients they needed to thrive. To further protect the native plants and fight off weeds, we also were concerned with mulching the beds. The mulch worked to suppress invasive growth by blocking them from sunlight, and it also moistened the soil and improved soil quality.
During my hour of volunteering, I worked with peers to pull weeds and mulch the planting beds. When I first arrived, I was given gloves and assigned to a bed with a group of other volunteers. We were instructed to pull any weeds we could find, with the organizers telling us that anything besides the bushes and trees was invasive. While I don't know the exact species of weeds we were pulling, they were mostly small, leafy, vine-like plants growing in close proximity to or on the planted bushes and trees. I assume that, given how close they were, the weeds were likely competing with or using the native plants for nutrients. We all worked to gather handfuls of weeds that we would put in a wastebasket. This work helped address our goal by eliminating competing species from the beds. Most weed species are invasives and generalists, meaning they are good competitors for resources and able to get nutrients efficiently and from almost anywhere. As such, removing them meant removing a demand for nutrients in the beds. This left more for the native, planted species, empowering their growth.
Once we had pulled most of the visible weeds, a peer and I were instructed to start mulching the bed we were working on. We were given rakes and a wheelbarrow of mulch and told to cover the beds with as thick a coat as possible. I poured the mulch while my peer spread it around, and we were able to cover the whole bed. At the time I didn't really know the purpose of mulch, but I've since learned that it's crucial to helping achieve our goal of supporting the native plants. Specifically, mulch covers weeds that may be sprouting and blocks their access to sunlight—a crucial resource needed to keep growing. It also helps retain moisture in the soil and provides nutrients as it decomposes. This provides vital nutrients to the plants we were trying to protect, allowing them to thrive.
From pulling weeds to mulching, I do think that our volunteer work helped address the concern. By removing the weeds, we ensured that the desired plants were able to get enough access to the nutrients they need. While this is not a permanent solution, it does mean that there is less competition and the bushes and trees can thrive in the beds. Similarly, our mulching also helped by limiting the impact of the weeds and giving the plants the nutrients they need. All of this helps them grow and addresses our challenge of protecting the desired organisms.
I would do this service again, and I think it's important that these events continue. What makes weeds such a concern is their ability to bounce back quickly due to their invasive nature. As such, maintaining planting beds requires constant removal of weeds. Therefore, I would gladly partake in this activity again to further protect the native plants. I found this experience to be enjoyable and fulfilling as our impact was clear after completing the service. Additionally, I was grateful to be able to contribute to our campus community and enact some of the environmental lessons I learn in class.