Several years ago, students in Wharton Highโs Key Club created a place on campus to remember students and faculty members who had passed away. But, the quiet corner itโs tucked into doesnโt have sprinklers, so grass wonโt grow, and plants planted in the โserenity gardenโ wither.
Over the years, it fell into disrepair. In fact, says Jennifer Bell, an English teacher at the school, โIt became a weed-choked barren thing with a picnic table โ not the kind of memorial garden we wanted.โ
So Whartonโs โBeautification Club,โ which Bell co-sponsors with fellow English teacher Lindsey Glenn, went to work.
Back in September, with the help of the schoolโs head custodian, Junior Cintron, club members completely overhauled the area, adding raised plant beds with drought-friendly plants.
Now itโs much improved, but members of the club think it still has a way to go. While other solutions have been tried, such as mulch (which washed away in heavy rain), it was decided that the best way to improve the space would be with artificial turf, since no water is available to keep grass alive.
The turf is expensive, so the club hopes members of the community might help to make this project happen. The turf is estimated to cost about $1,200.
โWe know there are people in our community who have been touched by those who were lost,โ says Bell.
She emphasizes that the area is not only a memorial, which is why it was named the serenity garden.
โWe want to make it a place that is uplifting and beautiful, as a place of reflection,โ she explains. โSo, if you need to go and re-center yourself, itโs off the beaten path a little, so you can take a quiet moment to yourself if youโre having a rough day.โ
She says that is already happening. โWeโve heard there are definitely students who have noticed the improvement and have been sitting out there if they are upset and need to take a moment to themselves.โ
Bell says that the serenity garden isnโt the only project the Beautification Club has undertaken since its inception last year.
โOne thing thatโs striking at Wharton is that everything at the school is gray,โ she says. โWe felt like the lack of color and beauty was hurting morale at Wharton.โ
She explains that while the club hopes to overcome the gray with some color, itโs about more than that.
โWe want to boost morale and improve the overall climate around the school,โ she says, explaining that the club takes on a couple of large and a couple of small projects each year. โWeโve placed anonymous Post-It notes to encourage students, weโve made sensory bottles โ also called calm-down bottles โ to help autistic students, and painted murals at our on-campus preschool playground.โ
To support the Wharton Beautification Clubโs efforts to install artificial turf in the schoolโs serenity garden, contact the clubโs sponsors via the school: (813) 631-4710. Checks, made out to โWharton High Schoolโ and designated for the Beautification Club, can be dropped off at the school.