For the past four years Karen Briegs, Hillsborough Elementary School’s Home and School Association’s Outdoor Beautification Chair, has relied on the work and community spirit of local Scout families to maintain gardens that surround the school.
”When I took on the program in 2009, my goal was to select plants that would fill in the flower beds with interesting textures and a variety of colors to really dress up HES and make it an inspiration to the teachers and students who spend their days there,” she said. “Over the years we’ve all put in a lot of sweat equity, and now it is really paying off. The gardens are self-sustaining and beautiful.”
HES teachers helped last year and planted trees along the south side of the school, adding more visual interest and shade.
The committee and Scouts have been following a multi-year plan to refresh the gardens, working with a small budget and a lot of help from the community.
Much of this support has been provided by Boy Scout Pack 89, which holds its meetings at HES.
This year 16 Boy Scout families came out for the work day.
”Boy Scouts teaches the kids that they can make a difference in the community, but that with impact comes effort,” said Pack Leader Rich Murray. “Working the gardens is an opportunity for them to be part of a larger team, coming together and improving their community in a visible way. The kids are so proud when they get to school on Monday. They know it looks great because of what they did.”
Girl Scouts from local troops 60261 and 60750 joined this year with their moms to balance out the guys.
Collectively the Scouts and their families tended more than 3,500 square feet of garden beds, pulled up more than 20 yard bags of weeds, planted 40 mums and spread about 15 yards of mulch to spruce up the school.
Though Scouts put in the manual labor, the landscape mulch is often beyond the project’s reach. This year Mrs. Briegs reached out to businesses for help.
”Our budget doesn’t allow for me to buy mulch in any quantity so I used the town’s business listings website to connect with landscapers in Hillsborough,” she said. “Dwayne Aboosamara, owner of AEV Landscaping in Hillsborough, came to our rescue.”
AEV donated two huge loads of mulch, which provided aesthetics and protection for the plantings.
Mr. Aboosamara said, “It’s important for to support the community and this is a natural fit for us. We’re glad we could be part of this project.”
Ms. Briegs said she could not be more pleased with how the gardening project has grown over the years.
”I so appreciate the support from Dwayne and AEV to help with what we just couldn’t do ourselves, and the Boy and Girl Scouts and their families will always have my deepest appreciation. I work them hard and they keep coming back to help,” she said.
”Public gardening is the kind of activity that touches a community because people work collectively to create something that is so visible,” she said. “I’m proud of what we’ve done here together and how it will continue to bring beauty to this corner of Hillsborough for years to come.”
Participants in this year’s fall event were David, Christian and Caitlyn Cutts; Esther, Gregory, Christopher and Nicholas Koll; Ethan Miller; Jon and Jonathan Etheridge; Christian, Austin, Peter and Bill Quardt; Stephen and John Borini; Shawn, Kyle and Melanie Crockett; Paige and Phil Clark; Giovani and Jorgito Antonio; Amy, Erica and Diane Suraci; Karen and Brynne Briegs; Rich, Nick and Jennifer Murray; Zai Young and family; Evan Becza; Brendan, Nathan and Kim Sheehan; Rafi , Evan and Deanna Rodriguez; Tyreke and Tony Ford; Tyler Lang and Darold Hemphill, and Ashley and Barbara Ferriere.
