Growing in the Garden: Pedro Gonzales's Leadership Journey

On the eve of preparing for the 72^nd Ramble Festival earlier this month at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Pedro Gonzales meshed right in with other staff members and volunteers helping to add finishing touches to this beloved community event that brings art, antiques, rare books, a farmers market and the largest plant sale to the South Florida community.  

Pedro is supporting event planning and educational programming at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden through this year’s AmeriCorps Public Allies Miami program. He brings prior experience tutoring children and a passion for biology and horticulture to his job at Fairchild. Since beginning his service journey in August, Pedro has demonstrated dedication, commitment and leadership at his host organization and in the community.

On any given day, you can find Pedro applying new gardening and teaching techniques, assisting staff with educational programs, and organizing field studies for youth who visit the garden during the week.

“I like the challenge of making myself and the information about what we do at Fairchild make sense to the little ones,” Pedro said. “I’ve gotten better at teaching.”

Not only has the Public Allies experience helped Pedro develop his natural leadership abilities, but it has also given him newfound confidence in public speaking, facilitating and mentoring youth. He's looking forward to the remainder of his service year—working to enhance “green initiatives” and promote educational awareness to the youth he serves each day.