Eric Hastie, a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology, has been featured in UNC’s The Well for his taking up gardening during the pandemic. In the article, Eric describes his goals to “have something flowering every month of the year and I succeeded. The amount of diversity in plants continues to amaze me.” Eric continued to say that he desired his garden to be a “place where people could connect with nature and recharge. When a friend had to hold their wedding with guests on Zoom, I was honored to host and built an arch for the ceremony entirely with flowers that I grew.”
A big part of Eric’s inspiration came from his roots up north. “Lastly, I wanted to do my part for conservation and remembered the monarch migrations from growing up in New York,” Eric said. “I planted tons of milkweed and successfully raised and released about 100 monarch butterflies. I’ve even gotten better about garden planning and planted hundreds of bulbs for spring to use as a fundraiser for the Durham LGBTQ Center this year.”
The Well’s article focuses on various UNC faculty and staff who all picked up hobbies during their pandemic experience. Read the article here.