by Melissa L. Gaffney, Staff Writer
ROBBINSVILLE — A small group of residents recently undertook the task of sprucing up the front of Pond Road Middle School, a building that for too long had been considered aesthetically dull.
”Bland was a nice way to put it,” said Principal Paul Gizzo of the building’s former drab brick facade. “Then, one Monday, I came in and was wowed.”
During one mid-June weekend, the front of the school had been landscaped with more than 75 trees and shrubs, an effort that was spearheaded by resident and PTA member Willa Oshel.
”It was a big brick building with absolutely no landscaping,” Ms. Oshel said. “I thought it would be really nice if the kids went to school in a place they could feel proud of.”
As there currently is no funding for landscaping in the school’s budget (“Our priority is education,” Mr. Gizzo said), Ms. Oshel asked the principal for permission to undertake the project, so long as all supplies and manpower were donated. Then she made a few phone calls.
Greg McLaughlin, owner of the 40-acre McLaughlin Tree Farm & Nursery on Old York Road, and Frank and Linda D’Amico, who own the 100-acre East Gate Nursery on Gordon Road, pledged plants and time, Ms. Oshel said. A group of about a dozen residents wound up landscaping the front of the school.
The plants include pink magnolia trees, junipers, weigela, holly and sand cherries, Mr. McLaughlin said.
”We wanted to create a garden that would flower in the spring and would contain a mix of colors,” he said. And the plants are low-maintenance and should last a long time, he added.
Mr. McLaughlin and the D’Amicos not only designed the site, but also provided the manpower required to turn up the ground, mulch and the equipment that helped install the plants.
”We decided to step up and contribute as much as we could,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “We couldn’t just stop with the donation.”
And their donation is valued anywhere from $5,000 to $6,000, according to Mr. McLaughlin’s estimate.
The Pond Road Middle School plants will be in direct sunlight, Ms. Oshel said, which is why, in the past, landscaping efforts often failed. However, the community’s generosity did not stop with plants and labor.
Ms. Oshel also received a donation for an irrigation system that, along with care and weeding, will help the plants thrive. The Hamilton-based company wishes to remain anonymous, she said, but noted the system is valued at a couple of thousand dollars. It will be installed within a few weeks by the company, Ms. Oshel said.
It was an effort on behalf of the school district, but the volunteers had personal stakes in it, too: Ms. Oshel, Mr. McLaughlin and the D’Amicos all have children who will attend the Pond Road school this fall.
”It’s cheerier now, more welcoming,” Ms. Oshel said. “Many people already have commented as they pass by. They say it looks great.”
”I was amazed at how much she got accomplished,” Mr. Gizzo said, “especially with all the help she got. We were expecting less. It’s been overwhelming.”
The group would like to continue its efforts and landscape other sections of the school, Mr. McLaughlin said.
”Down the road, we would like to do another section,” he said, which could involve community groups and students themselves. “We always take free labor.”
”I’m so happy and thankful,” Mr. Gizzo said. “The group really changed the front of the school. It’s nice the students now can come in and see that, a more vivacious and homey place.”
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