Students, faculty and staff all had the opportunity to build their own terrarium Jan. 24.

The Terrarium Building Workshop was hosted in the D.P. Culp Student Center Cave. Sponsored by the Women and Gender Resource Center and the Terrarium Plant Store, students could participate in the workshop for free, with only registration required.

With the chaos of the beginning of the spring semester, this workshop allowed many students to take an evening off and relax with friends.

Two ETSU students, Anna Jackson and Addison Ragland, both spent their evenings building terrariums and using the evening to take some time to relax.

“I saw this on Instagram, and I literally texted her and was like, do you want to build a terrarium with me, and she said absolutely,” Addison shared.

For many students, plants are an amazing way to decorate and add some life to a dorm room. Through the farmers market on campus, many students have continued to grow their plant collection with plants both big and small. This workshop provided yet another opportunity for individuals to add to or start their plant collection.

“I think this is cool, I’ve never really seen a lot of events like this, and I think it’s specified to Women and Gender Studies with this specific vibe… I think it’s a good idea.”

At the workshop, volunteers who helped host the event also gave tips and guidance for students to learn how to take care of their plants. There were different options for building the terrarium, including both foliage plants and succulents. For terrariums with foliage plants, water about once a week, and for terrariums with succulents, water about every three weeks. If the soil is dry, it may need water.

Photo of Carter Twiner making a terrarium. (Alex Holbrooks/East Tennessean)

“It’s perfectly timed to where like you’re just getting settled into the semester… Like okay I already need a break, and this is the perfect opportunity just to chill out,” Anna mentioned.

Whether it’s by building terrariums or other healthy outlets, make sure that you don’t get too caught up in the chaos of school. Instead, put some time aside to take care of your physical, mental and emotional health.

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