Often, activism is deemed as this scary ideology that accumulates time and can be stressful. However, if activism was made to be fun, interactive, and easy this could draw in many students. Colleges of the Fenway organization, the Center for Sustainability and the Environment, and the Student Government Association at MCPHS can help bridge the gap between students and faculty in getting involved in climate justice. Part of that could be persuading MCPHS, one of the Colleges of the Fenway, to create a community garden that can not only be fun but also relaxing community building. 

Creating a nice green spot that offers students a place to meditate or relax in the middle of the city could be a great way to support mental health and activism for climate control. For example, the university could engage students directly in the design of the space and enlist student volunteers in assisting in building the space. The garden could also be a gathering space for a newly founded student climate activism group that could invite speakers on climate justice. Finally, the space itself should include placards reminding anyone who visits of what it will take to maintain these beautiful spaces in the face of climate change. 

Activism can be small or big. The feeling of connectedness, pride, and happiness can engage students in these activism events. This project makes students feel interested and shows them that their time matters in their environment.  

Not all activism is about healthcare, however, accomplishing some sort of involvement in activism can be useful for future healthcare leaders. Any healthcare sector needs to have empathy. The university should emphasize incorporating this into their students. MCPHS needs to build an ethos of collective involvement and concern for other people as healthcare is about helping people. The best doctors, nurses, and any healthcare leader feels the sense to help others. For a civic good, empathy and compassion are key to making the healthcare sector the best it could be. Without the urge to make change for the better whether, in healthcare or activism, this is detrimental to students’ character and their lack of being involved in society. Change is only possible through the collective effort of young adults and showing these college students that there will be effective results, even from something as little as a letter. 

We are calling upon the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences to partake in the formation of the Zen Garden to support their faculty and students in mental health, education, and climate justice.