Sustainability Spotlight: Lucinda Zmarzly & Lincoln High School Gardeners
April’s Sustainability Spotlight is shining on Lucinda Zmarzly and student gardeners from Lincoln High School!
Zmarzly, with support from student volunteers and community members, stepped up as the unofficial caretaker of Elliott Elementary school’s garden in 2023. After the garden’s former caretaker moved on from Elliott, the gap in knowledge and attention allowed weeds to spring up throughout the space.
Zmarzly and LHS senior, Alykx Wojcik, led the charge to remove the overgrowth and establish new plantings that would help keep new weeds at bay.
Zmarzly and Wojcik enlisted the help of family and friends, as well as garden volunteers from Sheridan Elementary in their summer 2023 cleanup efforts.
“We’re kind of the caregivers until the next big garden advocate at Elliott comes along and wants to take charge of it.”
With the weeds out of the way, Zmarzly’s attention turned to the future. She and other volunteers planted low maintenance, pollinator-friendly plants including buffalo grass, larkspur, sunflowers and zinnias. These plantings served to both beautify the space and to preserve the gardeners’ weed removal efforts.
“The first year, it was mainly about what cover crops we can put in so it’s not as much of a mess in the spring,” Zmarzly said. “It only takes a season for a garden to get completely overgrown.”
Spring of 2024 arrived and Zmarzly began working with Elliott’s Community Learning Center to bring parents and other community members back into the space.
Seven families participating in the Family Literacy Program signed on to begin growing food in the garden’s raised beds. Each family received coaching on where resources like the watering keys were located, and then had free rein to grow anything they liked.
Wojcik said that part of his role that summer included filling in to water, weed, and harvest the family-led raised beds if their usual caretaker was unable to do so.
While continuing to support the space, he said that he was able to see Family Literacy Program gardeners and their children enjoying the garden, as well as CLC groups and Elliott students at outdoor recess.
“It’s really nice to see someone look at a flower and go “Oh my gosh, that’s so pretty!” and then run and tell their friends to come see,” he said.
While cleaning up the space was the initial priority, Zmarzly said she also advocates for flexibility within gardens. In not meticulously planning every square inch, future gardeners will have the freedom to make the space their own. The work of Elliott’s former gardeners hasn’t been lost, either.
“Whoever started the garden at Elliott planted some really nice things, like raspberries and prairie plants,” she said. “More and more of these plants come to light every season as we keep the space weeded.”
It has been so exciting to see gardeners from Lincoln High School step up to support a nearby garden in need! We are grateful for the incredible example of dedication, energy and community-building that has grown out of this garden revitalization project.
Updated April 3, 2025
