The outside of our school is a reflection of the care and attention that goes on inside the school. The Grounds Committee works to beautify the school grounds, bringing together parents and staff several times a year for massive volunteer Grounds Work Days. Volunteers do all kinds of work on these days, such as weeding, tilling, planting, raking, trimming, sweeping, and picking up litter. Helpers of all ages are welcome. The most recent Work Day was Saturday, September 20, 2008. Read about the September 20 Work Day here.
School, front, before Sept 20 Work Day
During Sept 20 Work Day
We are currently in the midst of an ambitious Grounds Improvement Campaign, which began in Spring of 2007 as an effort to improve the landscaping and playground. The campaign is made possible by a large grant we won from Durham County’s Open Space and Trails Commission. The grant provides much needed funding for big expenditures. It also requires that the school community provide volunteer labor in exchange for some of the funds. So when volunteers chip in their labor, the school earns $5 per hour per person!
The playground upgrades are now complete, but much work remains to be done, especially with the front yard of the school. A new design for the front landscaping is in the works. So stay tuned – more to come!
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Other grounds developments this year:
1) Azaleas!
Azalea planting day
Sabrina Lamar, Grounds Committee Chair, won a grant for the school from NC Beautiful, which provided us with over 80 azaleas. We made a school-wide event out of it by organizing students to plant the bushes all around the school grounds during Azalea Planting Day, Thursday, November 13. All classes got to come outside and help put the bushes in the ground (into holes that had been diligently prepared the weekend before by volunteers). Read about the azaleas here.
2) MLK Ceremonial Planting
On Monday, January 19, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and a national day of service, we hosted a ceremonial planting of annual flowers in front of the school sign. The planting was sponsored by the Durham Environmental Action Group. People from various local groups, George Watts teachers and parents (and their families), came out to plant, rake, and remember Martin Luther King, Jr. together as a community. It was a cool, but gorgeous morning for the event. No rake nor yard waste bag went unused! Thank you to all, too many to name names! The Herald Sun reported on the ceremony on January 20, 2009: “Area volunteers beautify local school’s grounds for MLK Day”
3) Edible Garden
On Saturday, January 24, we held a design workshop to explore ideas about how an “Edible Garden” might look at George Watts. An Edible Garden is an outdoor learning environment, where kids grow vegetables, herbs, and other foods on the school grounds. Read about Edible Garden developments here.
Edible Garden Workshop - reviewing diagrams
Edible Garden Workshop - thinking outside on site
Azalea planting day
Azalea planting day
