Garden-Lou Spotlights Samantha Lee Smugala

Samantha Lee Smugala loves problem-solving. St. Louis has a few problems, … one being the many vacant lots that dot city neighborhoods. “I realized the significant harm communities suffer when they are riddled with vacancy,” says Samantha, President, and Founder of Pocketparks. “My background is in Commercial Interior Design. I didn’t start working in public space and parks until the pandemic. I saw a need to create something beautiful in the outdoors to allow people to safely socialize. Then it turned into much more.”

With her entrepreneurial spirit, Samantha took the first steps at making a difference in St. Louis with research, then coming up with a business plan, which is essential, even for a non-profit organization. Forming a board was next. “Our team is very energetic and passionate, too. We learned so much in our first year and have refined our process from that experience.” Samantha’s duties as founder and president range from defining new organizational strategies to picking up trash. Since Pocket Parks functions solely on volunteer efforts, Samantha makes sure the team gets to work on fulfilling-type projects, and then she fills in the gaps in between; the sign of a true and empathetic leader who values her team and has a ‘big-picture’ vision.

The DUC Pocketpark at 10th and Locust Downtown

Samantha’s ‘day job’ as the Executive Director of the East Loop Community Improvement District keeps her busy on top of leading the Pocketparks organization. Still, her art and interior design background is influential in both positions. “I didn’t really know anything about parks or how to develop public space. My curiosity kept me intrigued, and my passion kept me motivated. I think my background in design has made me keenly aware of how impactful your environment is. It can influence your behavior, feelings, movement, identity. Design helped me combine art and strategy through problem-solving. It has led me to where I am today.”

Samantha remembers wanting to start a vegetable garden while in middle school. “It was, to my surprise, very HARD! I think I lasted a season or so. It definitely gave me perspective. Today, I see landscaping and gardening as an art. When I go to a nice public garden or beautiful backyard I have so much respect and appreciation for the time and skill applied there.” Today, she leaves most of the gardening to the Master Gardeners that volunteer with Pocket Parks while she keeps doing what she does best. “I don’t actually get to garden as much as I like,” says Samantha. “But I am having so much fun as I continue to learn. We’ll have the master gardeners join us or representatives from the Shaw Nature Reserve. I could listen to them talk for hours. It’s like we’re hosting little master classes at each volunteer day.”

The best part of the job is the relationships with people in the community. “People stopping me when I’m at the parks and telling me “Thank you.” Coming to a park and there are people visiting it, using it. That tells me the park is valued. It’s a success story of turning something desolate into something beautiful that draws people to it. By working with public space, these little parks are available to everyone. I liked that we could reach more people this way.”

Like all volunteer opportunities, keeping people interested and engaged long-term is always a struggle. The parks utilize ‘semi-permanent’ concepts and structures that are easily accessible and last ten years verses 50+; this allows for more flexibility to change or move ideas as the community needs and wants change. For example, the DUC Park downtown at 10th and Locust started with $900 to paint the rainbow and set up a dog station. This combination of Tactical Urbanism and Overnight Placemaking completely transforms spaces, which changes the behavior towards those spaces. It’s a snowball effect as the local community sees the progress, gets excited, and gets involved, evolving the space’s function even further. 2-Acre Park at Forest Park Avenue and Vandeventer is another example. The space now hosts ‘Corner Cinema’ nights and seasonal farmer’s markets but started with just an empty weed and trash-filled lot.

2-Acre Park at Forest Park Ave and Vandeventer

“When people look out their windows and see that nobody cares, they ask themselves, why they should care.” Samantha hopes to expand the Pocketpark concept to other cities. “We don’t build parks that are difficult to take care of. So, the more volunteers we have, the smaller the chunk of responsibility gets. And then, it’s actually really easy. So volunteer with Pocketparks!

The West End Neighborhood Pocketpark at 5900 Clemons

QUICK FACTS

-What are your personal plant passions? Veggies, roses, Bonsai, grafting, succulents, etc.?

My house plants are my babies. Another result of the pandemic. I got to slow down a bit and learn about plants and enjoy them. But I still keep plants that are low maintenance: Snake plants, Spider plants, etc. I have a banana hook plant that is taller than I am now.

-Funniest plant-related question you’ve ever been asked.

Is that a weed? Most common question at any volunteer day!

-If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only have ONE plant to keep you company, what would it be? Doesn’t have to be a food-bearing plant since this island has a free buffet!

-A tree to put a hammock in! Something easy to climb too so that I could look out over the island.

Favorite garden you’ve visited in person, near or far?

-I want to plug the Philadelphia Flower Show. In 2022 it was held at FDR park. There were many exhibits made of all plant material. Absolutely gorgeous!

If you could have lunch with any other plant geek, dead or living, who would it be?

-Probably the authors featured on Plant Humanities Lab. https://lab.plant-humanities.org/ The way they tell the stories and share the historical significance of plants is so interesting!