The toughest of weeds couldn’t stop Kobi Kissi, co-president of the Gardening/Permaculture Club from sitting down and discussing why the club is important to the City College campus.

In a world full of technology and AI, the Gardening/Permaculture Club is taking students back to their roots, literally. The club, which is led by Xavier Tennant and Kissi, is proving that a little dedication, teamwork and most importantly mulching, can blossom into something more beautiful than dew drops on a fresh morning rose. 

“I think it’s [the Gardening / Permaculture Club] super important to City College because it’s a part of campus and it’s been uninvested in for years,” Kissi said. “Students have planted trees 8 feet apart that need to be 20 feet apart and in fifty years they’re gonna be 80 feet tall.” 

Plans for the garden were elaborated as Kissi discussed what the club hopes to achieve. He went on to explain that the club is aiming for more paths and entrances for the garden so students can have a greater accessibility to the space and get a better sense of exploring what’s theirs.

“Everyone’s allowed in there but nobody knows that, right? We want to integrate it with the campus more and put the work into it that’s important. Right now we’ve been covering the ground with mulch and making the soil plentiful again,” Kissi said.

While talking to plants may help them grow through the carbon dioxide we produce when we exhale, the Gardening/Permaculture Club is where friendships and lifelong bonds really begin to bloom. According to Kissi, it’s the hard work that everyone puts in together when they gather early every Friday morning on West campus that really brings them all closer.

“I really like spending a lot of time with the club president, he’s super educational and gives me a really good idea on how to look at the club,” Kissi said. “I like working with my hands and being social, nothing bad comes from it.”

Kissi continued about the future events they have set up for the rest of the semester. 

“When it comes to off-campus things, I want us to go on hikes especially since the weather’s been getting warmer and we’re getting closer to spring time,” Kissi said. “We want to go through a plant nursery and look at what we want for our garden. I think that would be fun.”

Plants aren’t the only green thing sprouting from the club as its leaders have been able to pull quite the sum of funding according to Kissi who was able to give some insight on how they grew their money tree. 

“We’ve applied for grants. The sustainability fund is really plentiful and is helping our school because California really cares about things like that,” Kissi said. “So we could get $20,000 for our club and we could put down a lot of foundational work that will actually last for a long time, and our idea is to make this garden an actual garden again.”  

Kissi showed great appreciation and gratitude towards his co-president Tennant. He explained that he knows what he’s doing and has a great vision for the future of the garden at City College. Kissi also reminisced on meeting the founder of the Garden/Permaculture Club during an outing near the garden with a fellow member. 

“The other day this guy walks up to me and asks to go to the garden and I say of course because everyone is allowed in there,” Kissi said. “He told me that he and his friends started this club years ago and it used to not look as good as it does now, and that was super cool to hear because I’m co-president now, so to see these pieces come together is really interesting.”

As the Gardening/Permaculture Club continues to grow in numbers, ambitions, and plants, it’s clear that their work extends far beyond soil. Whether it’s fruits, vegetables, or friendships, their mission is about more than just the garden itself, it’s about nurturing a sense of responsibility, patience and care for their campus. 

The Gardening/Permaculture Club meets from 9 to 11 a.m. every Friday morning.