Ecology Action Interns
Thanks to a generous gift from former Pacific Regent Walter Robb, the Pacific Garden Program is able to offer Walter Robb Scholarships, which enable two Pacific students to participate in Ecology Action's 2-month Summer Internships at the Ecology Action Biointensive Mini-Farm sites in northern California.
Meet the Summer 2019 Ecology Action Summer Interns:
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| Philomena Jombo has roots in Nigeria and the UK, and came to Pacific to study Biomedical Engineering. Philomena has a particular talent for raising vegetables; her garden beds are beautifully designed and well tended, and have been very productive. Her crop this year was diverse: onions, garlic, chard, kale, collards, mustard, lettuce, radishes, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, chick peas, and she even tucked some spring daffodil bulbs in among the vegetables. Philomena was vigilant about inspecting her plants for pests, and she applied plenty of insecticidal soap when the inevitable aphids appeared. Before leaving the Robb Garden for the summer, she's converting her beds over to summer crops: tomatoes, chiles, peppers, eggplants and watermelons. |
Vivien Mial hails from Texas. She is a Geological and Environmental Sciences major, but is also studying Studio Arts - a perfect combination of science and design that lends itself well to gardening. Vivien tackled two special projects in the Robb Garden: our cobblestone Herb Spiral and our Strawberry Spiral. The Herb Spiral had become overgrown and infested with bindweed; Vivien removed every cobblestone, pulled the weeds, built up the base with fresh compost, relaid the cobblestone spiral, and planted fresh herbs. The Strawberry Spiral was similarly weedy; Vivien got rid of the weeds, finished planting out the strawberry plants, installed irrigation, and placed a charming path of stepping stones inside the spiral. |
We look forward to seeing Philomena and Vivien back in the Robb Garden next fall,
and we can't wait to see the fresh expertise they will bring with them!
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Summer 2017 Ecology Action Interns:
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| Pauline Montemayor has been a resident of Tracy, California for all her life and is no stranger to the Stockton area. She is currently majoring in Environmental Science with a minor in Sustainability here at the University of the Pacific and has been part of Pacific since 2009. Originally a biology major, she switched to her current major after deciding to focus her studies in an area that she is truly passionate about. Pauline is also considered a 'nontraditional' student, having taken a break from academia for two years before making her return. In that time, she acquired the type of knowledge that cannot be taught in a classroom setting - real life knowledge. Although a student, first and foremost, she manages to divide her time between school and various (and slightly odd) hobbies that include: woodworking, painting, leopard gecko breeding, and different forms of DIY projects. |
Laura Navarro is from Castro Valley, California. All her life, Laura has been interested in gardening, but being from a small urban city, she found it difficult to get her hands in the soil. Nevertheless, she often found herself involved in wildlife rescues and environmental improvement projects. She majored in Environmental Science at the University of the Pacific intending to become an advocate for the Earth. As she learned about the grim future being predicted by scientists all over the world, she began to believe that food security will be one of the major issues humanity will have to face. It was through working in the Ted and Chris Robb Garden that Laura was introduced to the biointensive method, and she became very interested in learning more about this sustainable method of farming. She plans to spread the knowledge of sustainable farming in the hopes that someday soon society will join her in pursuing sustainability. |