Penn State Students Learn to Reuse Natural Materials for Christmas Wreaths | lifestyle

The Student Farm Club kicked off the holiday season Wednesday evening with a festive wreath-making workshop in the Boucke Building.

Penn State students and locals were invited to make a free wreath using all of the materials provided, including vines, branches, berries and evergreen foliage.

Ayiana Biddle, Student Farm outreach coordinator and AmeriCorps member, helped organize the event. Biddle said she hopes to provide an “accessible” and “accessible” activity for participants.

“It’s a fun activity for students to participate in and we just want to show you how you can do it yourself,” said Biddle, an agricultural sciences and horticulture graduate.

The Student Farm Club collected some plant materials from the Dr. Keiko Miwa Ross Student Farm at Penn State, other materials were found in outdoor areas.

Biddle began the workshop with a brief introduction to wreaths and the history behind them.

“The first use of wreaths can be traced back to ancient Egypt, Rome and Greece and they were originally used as crowns or headdresses,” Biddle said. “They symbolize power, authority and victory.”

Biddle said she believes wreaths serve a different purpose now.

“It brings a lovely holiday spirit to any home and also serves as a fun way to reuse materials sourced from our environment,” Biddle said.

Student Farm Club field production manager McKenna Loney attended the event because it reminded her of her family.

“My mom loves making wreaths, and since it’s the holiday season, I think this is the perfect opportunity,” said Loney, a fourth-year plant science major.

Loney said she was proud to create a wreath from materials she helped grow.

“It’s really cool to see products we grew less than a mile away come together and create a unique product,” Loney said.

Justina Nguyen found out about the event via Instagram while she was already decorating her apartment for Christmas.

“It was perfect because I didn’t have to spend money on anything and I can be creative with the decorations,” said Nguyen, a third-year civil engineering major.

Nguyen said she was excited to learn about the event as a way to have holiday fun before graduation.

“Especially in the last few weeks of the semester, it’s really fun to de-stress,” Nguyen said.

Biddle said she hopes participants can use the wreath-making workshop to become aware of the natural resources available to them and see the craft in an alternative way.

“It increases our awareness and gratitude for the resources that nature provides us, because there is so much that you can create with the things you just find in your backyard,” Biddle said.

Other events hosted by the Student Farm Club can be found on the OrgCentral page, including a succulent sale, a free soup dinner and an herbal tea workshop.

MORE LIFESTYLE CONTENT