SCITUATE, R.I., NOVEMBER. 17, 2023 – On Friday, November 10, Scituate Middle School students eagerly put their gardening skills to the test after hearing that Hope Associates, Inc. had reached out to the school’s Principal Dana Morel, asking if any students were interested in volunteering to plant bulbs at Colvin Park, located on Main Street in Hope. In just 60 minutes, thirteen enthusiastic middle school students were able to plant over 700 bulbs within the park. Hope Associates, Inc. is a local non-profit whose mission is the conservation of property along the North Branch of the Pawtuxet River.
“When I received the request for student volunteers to help beautify Colvin Park I reached out to Ms. Beth Travers, who leads our very active Agricultural Club, and Ms. Ann Battey, who leads our National Junior Honor Society group,” said Morel. “These teachers organized students from grades 6 through 8 who were excited to volunteer for this project.”
Colvin Park is dedicated to Lloyd and Barbara Colvin, who provided many years of service to the Town of Scituate. A generous donation was received at the dedication of the park to provide landscaping work. With the funds from the donation, Hope Associates purchased seven varieties of bulbs, numbering 1200 in total. With the help of the SMS students, most of the bulbs were planted in one day.
Students met at the Hope Library immediately after school dismissal and walked to the park together. Planting holes had been previously drilled by Donna Faria, Ralph Groves, and Bob Morse. Student’s were organized into teams, each team was responsible for planting different varieties of bulbs.
After the work was finished students were treated to hot chocolate served by Ruth Strach. The students who volunteered were Lily Werbecki, Kali Esposito, Maria Saunders, Isabella Brown, Kelsey Gallucci, Charlotte Belleville, Sarah Curria, Avery Cavanagh, Gabriella DeRosa, Krysta Maguire, Charlotte Snow, Talea Lewis, and Lea Aquino.
Morel continued, “We are so proud of our students for taking on this venture, it’s wonderful to see them taking an interest in community service at such a young age.”