A group of 13 students and volunteers from the area have completed the first part of a reconstruction project on the enclosed plaza area between Becker High School and the Middle School this week, according to BHS art teacher Joni Svaren, who has long advocated the project.
The project was made possible by a grant from Central Minnesota Jobs and Training, and was designed to teach basic horticultural and landscaping skills to the group of students, as well as basic living skills such as shopping for food and preparing their own lunches each day.
Work Experience Coordinator Michelle Kocak-Jones was instrumental in getting the grant approved, Svaren said. She has worked with the program on projects with the Sherburne Soil and Water Conservation District and the City of Becker. Kocak-Jones was assisted by her daughter, Trista Klein-Steuber, who was one of the student volunteers on the project.
School and district staff also assisted on the project, purchasing some of the plants used in the landscaping, Svaren said. Ken Abraham from the District Transportation Department and Joe Rand, county 4-H coordinator also provided a great deal of assistance on the project. Svaren said the district staff and teachers who have seen the transformation have been very enthusiastic after seeing the results, and that it was very gratifying to have her “long term dream” for the space finally come true.
After heavy equipment removed the brush and weeds from the space, the students helped to install pea gravel throughout the site, after which a variety of shrubs and flowers were planted. Eventually, raspberries will also be planted, and the area will one day evolve into an outdoor classroom space, Svaren said. The students in the program put in a total of 560 hours of labor over the three-week period of the project.
Several of the students said they had enjoyed the chance to learn new skills, meet new people and take part in the successful completion of a project which basically took a piece of waste ground and created a useful new space that will be enjoyed for a long time to come.
Students taking part in the program included the following: Sidney Conlon, Sam Conlon, Angela Lane, Dan Zimmerman, Danny White, Jordan Weber, Jack Spinner, Lorenzo Pringue, Brianna Klinker, Riley DeFries, Zach Arthurs and Tima Guchikov.
