MUNCIE, Ind- Minnestrista is the home of the Ball Brothers Estate. On this estate are the beautiful gardens where they have horticultural gardens, trails and home tours of the Ball families.
They also have events that go on throughout the seasons. One thing that keeps the beautiful gardens clean are volunteers, who make sure that the gardens stay healthy and presentable for the public.
Chris Allen, the horticultural specialist at Minnestrista, expressed further on how important volunteers are to the gardens and the community.
“A lot of what we do would not be possible without the help of volunteers. There's a lot of different opportunities for volunteers from Ball State students to the community at large and different organizations.”
One of the volunteers, Brian Beal, has been volunteering for over 18 Years. He was part of creating the nature area in 1996.
Beal shares that he has won awards for his long-time volunteering and service. He expresses his favorite parts of the estate that he loves to work on.
"I've been doing this for 19 years and it's part of my life, I just love it. The rose garden, south campus, north campus, trying to make them beautiful for the people,” Beal explained.
Volunteering at the gardens is not the only thing you can do, it's open to the public for the community to walk around, explore shops and take in all of the gardens.
Contact Essence Eaton with comments at essence.eaton@bsu.edu
