VENTURA : Student Project Gives School a New Look

The oldest campus in the Ventura Unified School District is a lot more photogenic this fall thanks to a student-generated landscape project.

The 2,500-square-foot Class Plaza, the result of two years of construction, will be dedicated Tuesday at Ventura High School, which is more than 100 years old.

“The students wanted a place for photo opportunities,” said landscape architect William Morgan, a 1969 Ventura graduate.

Morgan, along with more than 30 area businesses, donated about $40,000 worth of time, material and labor to turn an ivy-choked corner of the campus into a scenic garden with stucco walls, brick benches, plants and a grassy knoll.

“It’s awesome,” said student body President Mike Schodorf, who helped lay cinder-block for the wall. “It’s so bright and colorful and looks so much better than anything on campus.”

The plaza was developed by the Class of ’92. Students helped Morgan design the project and student volunteers supplemented work done by professionals.

“It’s more than a garden,” Morgan said. “It’s a space that can be used by small or large groups.”

Small steppingstones on the grass eventually will be replaced by time capsules. “The students told us they needed a place to bury time capsules,” Principal Jerry Barshay said.

The stucco wall between the plaza and the administration building--erected to keep sound levels from disturbing administrators--went up two years ago, but the landscaping and brick work weren’t finished until this summer. A fountain will go in next year.

“I was very surprised to come back and see everything done,” Schodorf said.

Morgan hopes the beautification of the campus will spread to the community.

“What we did here wasn’t difficult,” he said. “I’d like to see everybody get this inspired.”