Project results in beautiful garden for Marlboro H.S.

Project results in beautiful garden for Marlboro H.S.

Often a PTA relies on fund raising to get a project completed. The Marlboro High School PTA tried something a bit different. While we accepted financial donations toward our project, what we came to count on was "people power."

The Marlboro High School PTA put in a small garden within the property of the facility, using the courtyard just off Alison Fox’s special education classroom. The PTA chose Ms. Fox’s class to assist us because we wanted to act as mentors for them. We wanted to let Ms. Fox’s kids know we already thought of them as "special" and felt this would be a "gift in progress."

Through contributions of money for garden supplies, the PTA, along with many other friends, created a lovely, peaceful place full of beautiful flowers, birdbaths, feeders and houses, garden benches to sit on and, of course, lots and lots of color.

The students will help tend the garden, making sure the feeders and baths are clean and full, checking the weather gauges for air speed, temperature and rain, occasionally water and weed the plants, all the while learning about nature and science and just the beauty that can be found within the walls of the school.

So many people contributed to this project. It really became a community event. They include: the members who donated funds; students Soyon Kim, Chris Shum, Paul Fisher, Craig Brown, Jessica Leung and Becky Farel; PTA "planters" Gale Sloan, Phyllis Cataldo, Bernice Katzman and Rich and Julie Farel; Sandy Vos-tok for her wonderful rototiller; community senior Jacco Lampi-nen for his beautiful birdhouses; Barbara Dougherty for paint to decorate those beautiful birdhouses and benches.

Also, Marcy and Gillian Rosendale for helping me paint those beautiful birdhouses; the Athletes for a Better Community for helping us turn the soil, which at times felt like concrete; the kids from detention who helped dig, and, yes, they volunteered; the custodians for helping with our endless requests to come back after hours, find the hose key, you name it, they were there; Rich Allen for his wonderful support of the project from the beginning; all the K-8 elementary school PTAs and PTOs for their generous donation of flats of flowers; and, of course, Ms. Fox’s class for their ongoing support as our future gardeners.

No project can be deemed a success until the goals can be accomplished and then physical evidence is offered. Well, the other day three goldfinches were spotted visiting the bird feeders. Goldfinches are native to New Jersey, of course, but had never been seen around the school that anyone could recall. Perhaps that was nature’s way of giving everyone a well-deserved pat on the back. Thank you.

Julie Farel

President

Marlboro High School PTA