PEACE Garden Offers Lessons in Growth, Life

Four raised garden beds just outside Loudermilk Field came to life this summer with tomatoes, okra, cucumbers, and marigolds. The PEACE Garden, named for club members who set the plot in motion, continues to offer lessons in faith, patience, and reward.

Athletic Training major Dana Davis and fellow members of the Piedmont Environmental and Conservation Effort (PEACE) Club had tossed around the idea of a community garden. They had the community and the space. What they needed was a plan. Then Oliver Howington, coordinator for the Learning Center, got involved.

“He truly is the reason the garden took off because he took our idea and set a plan into motion,” Davis said.

Howington knew the merits of the project as it connects so well to his life before Piedmont. For about a decade, he was a commercial beekeeper. Later, he worked in research at Georgia Tech studying the biomechanics of pollen pellets. He was left with a deep appreciation for how plants, pollinators, and healthy ecosystems depend on one another.

“It’s been meaningful to help create a space where those connections are visible on campus,” Howington said.

It also ties into his day job. As an academic coach at the Student Success Center, Howington spends his time helping students build confidence and reach goals one step at a time. He sees the same principle at work in the garden beds.

“Students often want immediate results, whether that’s higher grades, stronger study habits, or greater confidence, but real development happens through consistency,” he said. “Gardening teaches the same lesson. You prepare the conditions, provide support, stay patient, and trust the process. You don’t plant a seed one day and expect a harvest the next.”

“We crave instant gratification, and the garden does not provide that,” Davis said. “It makes me more mindful and grateful for the things around me.”

According to PEACE Club Faculty Advisor Dr. Deb Dooley, the crop selection was practical. The results were a little mixed.

“Crops were chosen based on seasonality and robustness, since care wasn’t consistently available this summer,” Dooley said. “Okra did OK. Cucumbers did great, and the marigolds did exceptionally well. Tomatoes and squash could have been better. Way too many marigolds were planted, but all of it was planted from seed, so I’m impressed with the results overall.”

There were lessons in the challenges: bugs, deer, and summer heat.

“What has surprised me the most is how quickly your garden can change,” Davis said. “You stop by one day and you barely have seedlings; next thing you know, the garden bed is full, and you can have vegetables overly ripe. It’s really shown me that we cannot choose when things become fruitful, and to focus on the things we can control.”

The garden is one piece of a larger mission for the PEACE Club, which also runs an entirely student-volunteered campus recycling program, organizes cleanups, hikes, tree plantings, and field trips — all independent of official campus services.

“It provides opportunities for growth — ha, that’s a pun — conservation and sustainability, and a reason to go outside,” Dooley said of the garden’s place in the club’s work.

“Sometimes the most important growth is happening beneath the surface before anyone can see it,” Howington said.

Dooley said the project succeeded because faculty and staff knew when to step back.

“It’s worth taking the time to support and encourage students. That’s really all it takes,” Dooley said. “The project was student-driven and executed. Standing back and letting the students take the reins leads to a better project that students are more invested in.”

Still, the students appreciated the help.

“Oliver was not originally a part of PEACE Club when we brought the garden idea to him, but he dove in like it was his own, and now it really is,” Davis said. “The garden would not be here without his willingness to organize and advocate for the project. Dr. Dooley and Oliver deserve every bit of credit for making PEACE Club and the garden what they are today. They make Piedmont special.”

The PEACE Garden isn’t finished. Cool weather seedlings of radishes, spinach, mustard greens, and kale are already sprouting. The PEACE Club continues to grow along with it.

“It is a community garden, and you can be as involved as you want to be,” Davis said. “There are ways to make a meaningful contribution without even touching dirt. The garden is truly what the Piedmont community makes it, because it is for everyone on campus.”

Davis and fellow PEACE student leader Jessica Eanes are happy to talk with anyone interested in getting involved, whether that means tending a bed or joining a cleanup. Students can connect through the ManeLine app, the PEACE Club GroupMe, or by messaging @piedmont.peace.club on Instagram.