Soru 4 — Short Reading 4 — Vocabulary

At Greenfield University, students turned an unused courtyard into a small campus garden. The project began with six raised beds containing herbs and vegetables. Volunteers chose herbs because they grow quickly and can be used by the student cafeteria. A rain barrel collects water from a nearby roof, reducing the need for tap water. Students also keep a weekly schedule for watering, removing weeds, and checking plant health. According to the project coordinator, the garden is less about producing large amounts of food than about teaching practical lessons in sustainability and teamwork.
In the passage, the word “reducing” is closest in meaning to: