A MasterClass in Gardening: How my Minerva Exploration Grant Cultivated a Love for Gardening

Last fall, as a part of the Minerva Exploration Grant program, I was awarded access to the MasterClass platform to take Ron Finley's class in gardening. Like most people, during the beginning of the pandemic, I was eagerly searching for productive and gratifying ways to spend my time. Stuck at home for the spring and summer, I decided to start gardening. With the funds provided by the Minerva Exploration Grant, I enrolled in the online platform, MasterClass and took an introductory gardening class taught by Ron Finley, a Los-Angeles based fashion designer, and founder of the Ron Finley Project which teaches communities how to transform "food deserts" into "food sanctuaries." I learned the basics of how to cultivate food, determine soil health, and make effective compost.