This past weekend thirteen students and Crystal Davis, Assistant Head of School, spent hours tending to the newly built wood and metal garden boxes, located in The Village.
There are six garden boxes lining the pathways, with two housing flowers, brightening the entrance of The Village. Others are filled with herbs and winter vegetables that prosper in the school’s climate, such as broccoli, kale, chard, and onions.
Photo by Caspian Ellis
Intricately hand-painted wooden popsicle-sticks were made to label the various vegetables, and white barriers were placed over the boxes, preventing birds from diving down and swooping up the newly planted vegetables.
The student volunteers built and created these projects in order to add life and greenery to The Village. The first student-only volunteering project of this semester was a tremendous success; by the end of the day, a new sense of community was born.
Ms. Davis was one of the main contributors in helping the garden boxes become a prominent campus feature, and was ecstatic about the student participation.
“The students who came down were inspired, motivated, and required very little supervision from me,” said Ms. Davis. “It wasn’t like I was working, I was having a kind of creative fun with my students.”
Freshman Ryan Wyly was an active helper, building the protection barrier for the vegetables. Even though the students were working for hours on end, they still managed to have fun and enjoy themselves.
“It was a really beautiful sunny day, and it was great hanging out with everyone,” said Ryan.
By the end of the day, approximately half of the barriers were finished and students will continue to finish their work on a later date.
Photo by Caroline Morrow
Senior Ellen Hou was down in The Village for three hours working on packing soil into the boxes and planting vegetables and flowers.
After a long day’s work, the bulky gardening gloves were slipped off, and Ellen, along with the other volunteers, was rewarded by placing the beautifully hand-painted tags into the garden.
All the students were proud of their work, helping bring something new to the campus and brighten up the new home for the dormers.
“We made something new, because there wasn’t a garden,” said Ellen. “It brings something alive to The Village.”
Later in the year, Ms. Davis hopes to create a cooking area for the girls and boys so the vegetables being grown can be utilized.
“I feel like gardening is a really centering and reflective activity. I imagine that if we can get people involved in growing things together, it will help grow a sense of community and a sense of wellbeing in individuals,” Ms. Davis commented.