"The San Diego area is interspersed with food deserts and food swamps, areas where food is either unavailable or of poor nutritional quality. Additionally, these areas tend to be depleted of nature, which some might describe as a “concrete jungle”. To address these problems faced by students in San Diego, our project engages with Maria Galleher, who began and continues to teach a class on community gardening. We visited their garden to guide them in an experiment where they learned how mycorrhizal fungi can be beneficial in promoting the growth of its host plants. We also engaged with the students in conversations about college life and how to prepare for it. Additionally, we learned from the students about how participating in their community garden has impacted them. We found that community gardens can improve students’ access and intake of fresh produce and increase their time spent in nature, and mycorrhizal fungi can play an important role in enhancing the growth and nutrition of the garden’s plants."  (Camarillo, 2024)