Meet our Founder: Autumn Shultz
Core Volunteer Series
Welcome to our special series where we feature our core volunteers of @Mborogarden! This week, we feature our founder - Autumn Shultz! She organized Murfreesboro Community Gardening in 2010 with our Facebook page. She and Aaron, her husband, developed a rapport with Key UMC to establish a twenty by twenty-foot garden plot behind the church. We’ve been here ever since.
Autumn is a marketing administrator, so she knows how to coordinate and delegate. She brings her knowledge as an extension master gardener to the table, as well. Autumn puts the right people in the right place to succeed as a team. Listen on as we interview our Founder and Madam President.
Q: What do you love most about gardening?
A: “I love watching gardens and people thrive.”
Q: Tell us what inspired you to start a community garden.
A: “Watching our daughter's excitement over her first okra plant convinced me that as a community we don't connect with the earth's amazing ability to produce food. It all happens out of sight for most of us. We should produce, prepare and consume food as communities. For me, that's where the passion came from.”
Q: How has the garden changed over the years?
A: “It used to be only Denisha, Aaron and I out there pulling weeds out of clay soil wondering where we went wrong - lol. With some education, hard work, funding and teambuilding, this group has improved the soil quality 100%, produced hundreds of pounds of produce, and continues to bring new, fun and interesting people to meet.”
Q: Any related special interests or skills?
A: “Non-Profit set-up, funding and promotion, soil health, teaching all ages, food prep & preservation, growing vegetables and flowers. I love learning more about garden bugs, fruits, herbs, mushrooms and all things gardening.”
Q: Final thoughts?
A: “I love that this project is evolving into a more sustainable and community-supported effort. My hope is that all communities find and enjoy this level of engagement with their neighbors, food and soil.”
