A few years ago, the front yard in our school was referred to as an urban desert. With the help of Liz Robinson's idea for a Home Depot grant, the sweat equity of parents, coworkers, and students and Master Gardeners Angie LaPlante and Diana McGaw it is now a lush space with a variety of plants and hard-scapes. 

I immediately involved the middle school gardening students in the application process. They attended meetings with our assistant principal and representatives from Home Depot to share their ideas for the redevelopment of a section of our school property that can be best described as an urban desert. It had trees, azaleas, a sidewalk, and dirt. When the wind blew, or students visited, our urban desert became a dustbowl due to the erosion of topsoil over many years. During significant rainstorms, water from the school roof would flow through the space carrying soil into the street. 

The team determined that the installation of retaining walls, soil, mulch, and plants would help keep the soil in place and would provide students with an inviting and safe outdoor environment for learning. After many weeks of wondering – the grant was awarded. Our school received $5000 from Home Depot to restore the outdoor learning space. The grant provided us with the materials for retaining walls, soil, and mulch. As soon as school dismissed for summer, parents, students, staff, and Home Depot volunteers transformed the space. 

Our crew completed three retaining walls built from 50 bags of rock and 327 red concrete blocks, one exceptionally long wall along the fence line which required 24 wood timbers and bolts. New planting beds were created with 490 bags of topsoil and 200 bales of pine straw, finally, 300 bags of wood mulch were spread under benches and picnic tables. It was an enormous undertaking and by the end of the day, the urban desert was gone and in its place was a beautiful space ready for students.

The story of restoration does not end here. To keep 490 bags of topsoil in place, the outdoor learning space needed plants - and lots of them! Thanks to a connection with a local nursery, our school was provided over 300 plants at wholesale cost. A fellow UGA Master Gardener trainee, Diana McGaw and I worked with a group of middle school students to design the planting spaces. We wanted to create a space that kept Maria Montessori’s goals alive. She believed the goal of education is peace, knowing all children of all backgrounds desire to understand the world around them if they are given the chance to wonder and discover. 

Following those principles, the beds were designed in the shape of a peace sign. Our plan included multiple varieties of ferns, pollinators, native plants, and berries. Visitors of all ages are encouraged to walk along the paths discovering a variety of plants intentionally placed to entice all the senses. Not only did these students learn about gardening, but this experience also connected them with members of the community, working alongside volunteers of varying expertise.

The Fort and Arbor seemed like a good idea, but actually require more TLC than anticipated!