Impact to My Classroom

# of Students Impacted: 15

Our project was developed over five months of very hard, consistent, and fun work, performed by fifteen volunteering Students who have put in about 80 hours after school and on Saturdays to acheive their goal: a "Friendhip Garden" at Lely High School, made by the "WE DINE TOGETHER" Club -LHS Chapter, with the motto "We Dine, Garden, and Grow Together." And a growing process it has been, indeed: of practical skills in gardening and landscaping, of problem-solving mindset, of compromising personalities, of sound friendships. The outcome has been achieved with a great degree of creativity, environmental connection, and adaptability. In fact, the original project -which contemplated planting a series of flower plants, shrubs, vegetables, etc. had to be converted into an "above-the-ground" landscaped garden, when the School District denied the permission to dig, for fear we may encounter pipes or electrical wires. Reinvent ourselves, we recycled everything available: donated old pots, cement cylinders, benches usable as shelves, an abandoned boat and an abandoned pic-nic table, car tires, and bricks. Stuccoing, sanding, spray painting, brush painting, nail hammering, PVC pipes assembling, digging out brick borders, inserting safe rubber path borders, laying brick platforms, ...: we did it all as we went along with zero previous experience. The Students made all kinds of decisions about colors, shapes, final set-ups of the whimsical fun decor, plants and herbs chosen, and ribbon-cutting ceremony. They contacted potential donors for soil, signs, bird-feeders, thus connecting even more with the Community. They conceived invitations, as well as "Thank-you" notes.

The Friendship Garden is now being cherished by hundreds of students and adults. The MC2 ESE Students of Ms. Young spend many of their mornings there. The students in session with our School Psychologist many times prefer to meet in the serenity of the garden, rather than in the office. Athletes sit there in the afternoon before or after practice. Our "WE DINE TOGETHER" students go and check on the garden on a daily basis. The Garden has earned two pages in the 2019-2020 Yearbook. It has also been praised by Dr. Kamela Patton, who has taken the time to write to the fifteen Students individually, acknowledging thier incredible dedication. It was celebrated in a video and brief ceremony in front of the School Board on March 02, 2020, when Madison Craumer - the "We Dine Together" Student President and "soul" of the project- was also aknowldged by the School Board Members.