Volunteer Spotlight: Tina Martin

By Mike Macesich

Phipps is well-known for our beautiful gardens, seasonal flower shows, pioneering sustainability initiatives, informative educational programs and community outreach. None of our work, however, would be possible without the knowledge and dedication of our volunteers. In this series of profiles, we meet some of the people who give their time to make Phipps possible.

“Phipps is a beautiful place to work,” says Tina Martin, who has been volunteering at Phipps for more than two years. Tina has always had an interest in gardening, going all the way back to when she was a child helping out with the vegetable gardens of her grandparents. As time moved on, Tina’s passion continued to grow, and she found herself taking classes at Penn State to be a Master Gardener. She has now been a Penn State Master Gardener for more than nine years and she often goes to the Penn State Extension’s edible teaching garden, where they hold workshops to educate the public and grow a demonstration garden.

Tina began volunteering at Phipps after downsizing with her husband from their house of 28 years to a condo in Oakland. She no longer had a garden or greenhouse of her own, so she came to Phipps for a volunteer position where her love of gardening could flourish.

Tina has two main assignments when she is on duty at Phipps. During the growing season, she finds herself in the Rooftop Edible Garden, where she finds plants, picks crops, pulls weeds, builds garden structures to grow plants, helps with the living garden wall and more. Tina is also a greenhouse assistant, which she enjoys because she is able to do it all year round regardless of the weather.

Tina says that her favorite part about volunteering at Phipps is the people she meets. “I enjoy not only the staff but my fellow volunteers,” she recounts. “I have made some good friends.” When Tina moved here, she didn’t know anyone, so meeting people at Phipps was very important to her. “Phipps is my happy place, and digging in the dirt is the best therapy.”