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UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO AT PONCE

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
ENGL4021-L06

MEMORANDUM

DATE: November 22nd, 2023

TO: Pier A. LeCompte Zambrana, English Professor

FROM: Alejandra Gómez Martínez, Zachelivet Medina Vélez, Aimée Almodóvar

Martínez, Wilneris Torres Lugo, Gladysbeth Rodríguez Alvarado

SUBJECT: Progress Report at Atabey Garden and Punta Cucharas Natural Reserve

Introduction

The Pro-Agriculture Student Coalition (CEPA, for its acronym in Spanish) is a non-profit
organization at the University of Puerto Rico at Ponce (UPRP). This association promotes
environmental sustainability through the Atabey Garden. The work carried out in this garden
seeks to raise awareness in the university community about the importance of producing and
consuming local products. On the other hand, the non-profit organization Scuba Dogs Society
(SDS) promotes environmental care. In particular, this organization promotes volunteer work
for the International Coastal Cleanup at Puerto Rico.

The purpose of this report is to inform the progress of the Atabey Garden from September
1st, 2023 to November 1st, 2023. Also, to detail the activities conducted on September 16th,
2023, at the Punta Cucharas Natural Reserve at Ponce in collaboration with the SDS
organization. During the volunteer work at the Atabey Garden, students Aimée Almodóvar,
Alejandra Gómez, Gladysbeth Rodríguez, Wilneris Torres and Zachelivet Medina were
responsible for: cleaning the garden, watering plants, preparing the land for planting, and
adding decorative rocks. Likewise, Wilneris Torres and Alejandra Gómez contributed to the
progress of the garden through donations. As for volunteering at the Punta Cucharas Natural
Reserve, the students Aimée Almodóvar and Zachelivet Medina were responsible for
cleaning the coast and reporting on the waste collected.
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Work Completed

Throughout the academic semester, students Alejandra Gómez, Aimée Almodovar,

Zachelivet Medina, Wilneris Torres, and Gladysbeth Rodríguez assisted the Atabey Garden
to complete the required hours. Even though the majority of the hours were completed at the
Atabey Garden, the students were also involved in other activities that helped them achieve
the work hours required. Part of the hours of Zachelivet Medina and Aimée Almodovar were
accredited by volunteering in the Coastal Cleaning activity held by Scuba Dogs Society on
Saturday, September 16th, 2023 at the Punta Cucharas Natural Reserve in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
On the other hand, Alejandra Gómez and Wilneris Torres gained a total of one hour by
donating basic necessities for the garden such as bags of soil and pots.

While working at the Atabey garden, the students performed the following tasks:
- Clean the garden
- Water the plants
- Mark the perimeter of the garden by adding decorative rocks
- Collect leaf litter
- Weed any bad plants in the tires
- Add soil to plastic pots and sow seeds

While volunteering at the Coastal Cleaning activity held at the Punta Cucharas Natural
Reserve in Ponce, PR, the students performed the following tasks:
- Collect garbage
- Report the collected waste

Incomplete Work

Throughout the hours of service performed in the garden, several tasks were completed.
However, there were tasks that students failed to complete. First, only student Alejandra
Gómez had the opportunity to plant some seeds in pots. Students Aimée Almodóvar,
Zachelivet Medina, Wilneris Torres and Gladysbeth Rodríguez did not have the opportunity
to perform this task. Similarly, each of the members of this group did not have the chance to
work on the care of plants after sowing them.
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Alejandra’s Experience at Atabey Garden

On September 1st, 2023, Alejandra Gómez, a Biology student at the University of

Puerto Rico at Ponce, began her work at the Atabey garden. The hours worked that day were
from 4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m. while Emerson Rivera, president of the CEPA student organization,
was in charge of supervising the students working at the garden. During the first days of
service hours, the tasks performed were weeding the bad plants from the decorative soil tires,
cleaning the garden, and watering the plants. Maintaining the garden clean and weeding was
a great part of the first days for every student involved in the work. This was because the
garden had to be taken care of daily and most of the meetings to work at the garden were
scheduled weekly. It took the students a while to begin to harvest plants due to the rapid
growth of wild plants.

On October 13th, 2023, student Alejandra Gómez had completed the total 8 hours
necessary to meet the requirements. During the last visits to Atabey Garden, the student was
able to prepare planting soil pots and sow seeds. Other than this, the student continued to
keep the garden as clean as possible, collect leaves and garbage to maintain the garden
organized and water the plants. Within the last days at Atabey Garden, the work completed
was mostly planting some seeds into prepared pots and watering them in order to help them
grow. This was the student’s first day planting seeds, therefore, she was not able to observe
the whole process of the plants growing.

To complete the total hours, student Alejandra Gómez donated 3 soil bags to the Pro-
Agriculture Student Coalition. These bags were given on October 10th, 2023, to student Alder
Torres, directive member of the CEPA student organization who signed and certified the
delivery of the donations. Alder Torres accredited a total of one hour to the student Alejandra
Gómez for the 3 bags of soil. This hour helped Alejandra Gómez to reach the total amount of
hours needed.

Aimée’s Experience at Atabey Garden and Punta Cucharas Natural Reserve

On September 1st, 2023, student Aimée Almodóvar Martínez, from the Biology
Department of the University of Puerto Rico at Ponce attended the Atabey Garden for the
first time. The student attended from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., so the president of the Pro-
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Agriculture Student Coalition, Emerson Rivera, validated one and a half hours of service.
During this day, this student had the task of removing dry plants, which were watered so they
could be removed more easily. Most of the dry plants that Aimée removed were inside the
tires that were used as flowerpots and decoration. At the end, the student had to take all the
removed plants and place them in the designated area. Also, during her second visit to the
Atabey Garden, CEPA's vice-president, Francisco Castro, gave her an hour and a half of
service. Throughout the day, the student had the task of removing the weeds around the
crops. The extraction of these plants was carried out manually to avoid any impact on the
cultivated crops.

Aimée's last visit to Atabey Garden was on September 27th, 2023. During this day
Aimée attended from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., so she was validated for one and a half hours of
service. This maintenance was led by Shown Muñiz. Throughout this day, this student had
two very important tasks. First, the student had to use a rake to pick up all the weeds that the
other volunteers were removing and place them in the designated area. Finally, the student
had the opportunity to place decorative rocks around the crops. These rocks also allowed to
establish a perimeter in the garden.

On the other hand, on September 16th, 2023, student Aimée Almodóvar attended the
International Coastal Cleanup with the Scuba Dogs Society organization. In this activity, the
organization validated four hours of service to the student for attending the Punta Cucharas
Natural Reserve in Ponce. During this activity, Aimée had the task of collecting garbage on
the coast. At the end, together with her team, she collected 400 pounds of garbage.

Zachelivet’s Experience at Atabey Garden and Punta Cucharas Natural

Reserve

On September 1st, 2023, Zachelivet Medina Vélez, a student of the Biology

Department of the University of Puerto Rico in Ponce, visited the Atabey Garden for the first
time, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Therefore, the student performed one and a half hours of
service. That day was in charge of Emerson Rivera, president of the Pro-Agriculture Student
Coalition. The objectives were: weeding around the tires in the garden, removing plants that
were dry, and tilling the soil. All objectives were completed. Zachelivet participated in
weeding around and removing the dry plants. Weeding was done by hand, and in the process
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of removing the dry plants, it was necessary to moisten the areas to make it a little easier to
remove them. Once the work was completed, all the trash was collected on one side of the
yard, for later pickup.

On September 15th, 2023, Zachelivet Medina visited the Atabey Garden for the second
time from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and finished within an hour and thirty minutes. This time,
Francisco Castro, the vice-president of the Pro-Agriculture Student Coalition, was in charge.
Several maintenance and beautification tasks were performed in the garden that day, and also
the students enjoyed lemonade and snacks that were provided for us. Zachelivet weeded the
surrounding area, but this time with a hoe, watered several plants and took the garbage to the
designated place. On September 27th, 2023, Zachelivet visited Atabey Garden for the last
time from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. to finish within one hour and thirty minutes. This time
Shown Muñiz oversaw this maintenance. The objectives were plowing soil, planting, and
watering. Zachelivet was in charge of plowing soil and watering plants.

On September 16th, 2023, Zachelivet Medina participated in the coastal cleanup

activity at the Punta Cucharas Natural Reserve in Ponce, conducted by the Scuba Dogs
Society, from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. to finish with four hours of work. The objectives were
to remove as much garbage as possible and document the solid waste collected. Zachelivet
met the objectives and, together with her group, collected six large bags of garbage.

Wilneris’ Experience at Atabey Garden

On September 1st, 2023, student Wilneris Torres Lugo, a student of the Biology
Department of the University of Puerto Rico in Ponce, made her first visit to the Atabey
Garden, during the period from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The visit was chaired by student
Emerson Rivera,president of the Pro-Agriculture Student Coalition. During the visit, Wilneris
was assigned to remove the weeds that were around and inside the tires to create an orderly
environment to provide a desired space for the plants. In the following three days that she
visited the garden, Wilneris carried out the same activities: pulling weeds around and inside
the tires and from the crops’ boxes. Finally, she also collected leaves to place them as
compost in the boxes, where all the dry harvest were extracted.
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On October 18th, 2023, student Wilneris Torres, made her last visit to the Atabey
Garden of the University of Puerto Rico at Ponce, during the period from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00
p.m. She spent a total of one hour and thirty minutes, in this visit the student did as
previously mentioned removing weeds from places where she should not be, and also watered
the plants that had been planted in other visits, which she had not been able to attend. During
this same visit, the student approached one of the members of the CEPA association and told
him that she only had a total of seven hours and thirty minutes and she needed another thirty
minutes to finish her eight hours, and he indicated that she could make a donation of four pots
to certify her hours. On October 24th, 2023, Wilneris donated four pots to the garden. As a
result, Adler Torres, a member of the CEPA association, credited her with one hour of
service.

Gladysbeth’s Experience at Atabey Garden

On September 1st, 2023, student Gladysbeth Rodríguez Alvarado made her first visit
to the Atabey Garden of the University of Puerto Rico at Ponce, during the period from 4:30
p.m. to 6:00 pm. The visit was chaired by student Emerson Rivera, president of the student
association, Pro-Agriculture Student Coalition. During the visit, Gladysbeth was assigned to
clean the garden and remove the weeds that were around the tires to create an orderly
environment to provide a desired space for the plants. On her second visit, the student
Francisco Castro, as vice-president of CEPA, led the maintenance. During the visit,
Gladysbeth was assigned the first task of cleaning the garden to eliminate weeds and maintain
a tidy place. On the other hand, as a second task, Gladysbeth was assigned to water the
plants. The purpose of this task is for the plants to grow in a healthy way.

On September 27th, 2023, student Gladysbeth Rodríguez made her third visit to the
Atabey Garden, during the period from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 pm. This visit was chaired by the
student Shown Muñiz, member of the student association, CEPA. During this visit,
Gladysbeth was assigned the task of using a rake to pick up grass to create a clean
environment. On the other hand, as a second task she was assigned to collect rocks to
decorate the surroundings of the tires and planting places.

On October 18th, 2023, student Gladysbeth Rodríguez made her fourth visit to the
Atabey Garden, during the period of 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 pm. The visit was chaired by the
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student Alder Torres, a member of the student association, CEPA. During the visit,
Gladysbeth was assigned to collect leaves and place them in a “t” shaped composter used for
planting in the garden. Additionally, as a second task, she was assigned to remove a tobacco
plant. This plant is used in the garden to repel insects that may harm her plants. Also, on her
fifth visit, chaired by the student Shown Muñiz, Gladysbeth was assigned to collect yuccas
that were planted. As a second task she was assigned to create a furrow. The furrows are used
for planting in the garden.
Gladysbeth Alvarado's last visit to the Atabey Garden was on November 1st, 2023.
This visit was chaired by the student Alder Torres. During this visit she was assigned as the
last task to remove the weeds that were around the tires to continue with the cleaning of the
place.

Conclusion

At the conclusion, the students observed changes in the Atabey Garden and the Punta
Cucharas Nature Reserve. As for the garden, the work began with each of the members of
this group cleaning the land. After this, the student Alejandra Gómez had the opportunity to
start planting some seeds, which would allow greater production of the garden. Gladysbeth
Rodríguez also had the chance to participate in the yucca harvest. She was able to observe the
type of food that a garden can provide. As for the maintenance performed at the Punta
Cucharas Nature Reserve in Ponce, students Aimée Almodóvar and Zachelivet Medina made
a great change by collecting about 400 pounds of garbage.

The maintenance and care of the Atabey Garden and the Punta Cucharas Natural
Reserve is extremely important. This is because both places have a great impact on society.
The Atabey Garden allows the production and consumption of healthy food. On the other
hand, the care of coasts, such as the Punta Cucharas Natural Reserve, is important because
society feeds on animals such as fish. If these coasts are in poor condition, the food is in the
same condition. Finally, it is essential that the care of both places is carried out constantly
because otherwise all the work done was in vain. With time the place will return to its
original state.

ENCLOSURE: Self-Reflection on Project Work, Evidence and Service Log

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Self-Reflection
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Photo Evidence:

Photo taken by: Wilneris Torres

Zachelivet Medina and Aimée Almodóvar,

weeding and removing dry plants.

Photo taken by: Wilneris Torres

Alejandra Gómez, removing dry plants.

Photo taken by: Aimée Almodóvar

Alejandra Gómez, Wilneris Torres and

Zachelivet Medina, weeding.

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Photo taken by: Zachelivet Medina

Aimée Almodóvar, rake leaves.

Photo taken by: Alejandra Gómez

Gladysbeth Rodríguez, watering plants.

Photo taken by: Alaia Rodríguez

Zachelivet Medina, Aimée

Almodóvar and team,

collecting garbage on the

coast.
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Service Log
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