HOPE – Rain and wind can help or hinder in producing a garden; and, in the case of the planned ribbon cutting ceremonies for the “Denny’s Place” outdoor classroom on the Hope Academy of Public Service campus it hindered. Dedication ceremonies postponed from September have been rescheduled for Oct. 16.
\r\nThe 9 a.m. ceremony and reception following it will be hosted by the students of the Class of 2022 who helped foster the initiative.\r\n
\r\nThe outdoor science garden and classroom space that was begun at the close of the Fall, 2017, semester is a unique garden/outdoor class space.
\r\nSix planting spaces surround the central configuration on the site in the shape of the letter “H” and a covered “outdoor classroom” with two 4x4 storage units and benches completes the total project. Dozens of brightly-decorated “paver stones” have been set, each representing a $5 donation or $20 donation for groups of five, to financially support the construction and operation of the educational space.
\r\nThe purchase of gardening tools and implements for student use in producing selected crops will outfit the project, along with the donation of “vintage” tools and implements for historical perspective.\r\n
\r\nStudents will operate the garden space in support of providing fresh vegetables to the local Hope in Action food pantry. And, teachers at HAPS will develop lesson plans around the educational disciplines involved in the construction and operation of the space.\r\n
\r\n“In August, the Master Gardeners hosted our Class of 2022, ninth graders and several underclassmen, in an educational public service event to learn how to tend the garden, plant container gardens, begin a composting bin, and divide the raised beds into plots for various plants,” HAPS Principal Dr. Carol Ann Duke said.\r\n
\r\nNan Wright, of Hope, one of the guiding spirits of the project through the Hempstead County Master Gardener volunteers who have embraced the project, directed the setting of the “paver stones” for the central configuration of the garden space.\r\n
\r\nDuke said the group has been invaluable to the project.\r\n
\r\n“Now that the Master Gardeners have had time to work with our students and teach them how to tend the garden, students have taken over the maintenance of the raised beds and plantings by watering, harvesting and weeding all the areas,” she said.\r\n
\r\nShe said HAPS students are already learning more than simple gardening.\r\n
\r\n“Additionally, students are experimenting with different herbs and their properties, identifying the myriad creatures that fly, crawl and live among the plants and flowers, and are lovingly maintaining the walkways and pavers,” Duke said.\r\n
\r\nHAPS teacher Melissa Ellis obtained a $1,600 inter-disciplinary grant from Pacon Creative Products as one of three winners of a company-sponsored competition.\r\n
\r\n“Students will be able to synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to construct a garden/structure,” Ellis wrote in the grant essay. “Denny Dickinson, a former school board member and vital member of our community passed away September 20, 2017. The impact of his life on others and the community was tremendous as he touched many lives and hearts.\r\n
\r\n“His passion for the cattle industry was just as strong as his passion for our educational system,” she stated. “The Hope Academy of Public Service was able to break ground and create the perfect spot to design and name our garden honoring Denny Dickinson for his life and dedication for our Hope School District.”\r\n
\r\nStudents designed project models representing the use of the outdoor space incorporating science, art, math and literacy skills into the development of their projects, which was facilitated through the use of the Pacon grant.\r\n
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