Volunteers removing vegetation to realign plant bed cinder blocks at Taylor Park.
Geared up in garden gloves and tennis shoes, over 100 students and parents from St. Paul’s Episcopal School hit community gardens across the City of Mobile on the morning of October 16th, 2025. Volunteers prepared gardens for the fall across the following Mobile Urban Grower (MUG) network gardens: Taylor Park’s community garden, University of South Alabama Medical Museum’s medicinal garden, Craighead Elementary’s school garden, Trinity Episcopal Church’s community garden, Central Presbyterian Church’s community garden, Dauphin Way’s United Methodist Chruch’s community garden and pumpkin patch.
Team members working at Taylor Park.
Volunteers removing vegetation from Taylor Park plant beds.
Volunteers prepared gardens for the seasonal shift by removing vegetation, mowing grass, realigning garden bed cinder blocks, and more. These tedious tasks were completed across all 6 properties within two hours. MUG co-founders, Pat Hall and Carol Dorsey note, "These students are amazing! They come prepared to work hard and hit the ground rolling. We couldn't do what we do without the help from St. Paul's students. It is a wonderful gift to our gardens and our community.” MUG and St. Paul’s partnership started in 2016, marking this year as the 9th year of their service to the gardens. When asked why the gardens were chosen out of all the service opportunities out there, Leslie Lerner, Director of Community Service at St. Paul’s, stated, “At St. Paul's Episcopal School, volunteering in community gardens helps our students connect learning with service. As they grow and care for plants alongside neighbors, they cultivate responsibility, empathy, and a deep respect for the environment - living out our mission of stewardship and community engagement.”
Check out our resources page to find out the best ways to prepare your own local garden for the season change and what you can still be planting!
View images from work at the other gardens below:
