Green party celebration

Molly Shore

One of the school district’s best-kept secrets just might be the

quarter-acre environmental garden at Washington Elementary School.

But come May 3, its secret will be revealed.

On that day, community members are invited to the garden’s 10th

anniversary party, planned by Washington’s fifth-graders and students

in John Burroughs High School’s Interact Club.

Several dedications are planned during the party, garden

coordinator Dick Moskun said.

A loquat tree will be planted in memory of Thelma Spring, the

school’s principal during the 1950s and 1960s, he said.

The garden’s decorative bridge will be dedicated to Kriegh Hample,

who was one of the garden’s founders, and its nursery will be named

in honor of retired teacher Lois Futrell.

Moskun, who has taught in the garden for seven years, said the

most important lesson children learn from the garden is how to behave

in nature.

“They do learn to appreciate and respect the natural world around

them, but they also learn how to use this resource wisely,” Moskun

said

Principal Jane Clausen agrees the garden is a special place.

“Through the students’ experiences in the garden year after year,

they grow in appreciation of nature’s beauty, of the natural rhythms

that surround us, of the rewards that can be achieved through opening

our eyes, dirtying our hands and stilling our minds in the presence

of nature’s gifts,” Clausen said.