The efforts of roughly 40 local volunteers for a beautification project at Woodfern Elementary School came to fruition, addressing some key areas around the building that needed some care.
Put together by the YMCA Togetherhood Committee, the work brought YMCA members, Woodfern Elementary families, local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts troops, Lowes employees and other member of the public together last weekend.
“I’m really proud of the outcome of this effort and it’s great how everything turned out,” Togetherhood Commitee Chair Karen Briegs said. “I’m even prouder of the volunteers and businesses who jumped in to help make this possible.”
The group of volunteers tackled a number of projects over the weekend, including regrading, replanting and re-rocking the front school sign, replanting at the flagpole, cleanup and re-rocking of the front garden, installation of a new garden at the front of the school, general landscape cleanup, decorating for the school’s fall festivities and painting a 40-foot long storage container that overlooks the playground.
Briegs said a team of Lowes employees, led by Caitlin Prempeh and local Sherwin Williams representative Clayton Ferrara, took on the storage container project, which proved to be the weekend’s largest. Along with priming the entire surface of the container, the group of volunteers painted it sky blue in preparation for an art installment that will be led by art the school’s art teacher, Heather Bartholomew.
Leading up to the project, Lowes donated all of the paint and supplies needed to turn the rusty storage unit into an art piece.
Along with Lowes’ contributions, Briegs said other local companies answered the call with deliveries of plants, rocks, soil, mulch and other necessities. Contributors from throughout the community included Belle Mead Farmers Co-Op, Ambleside Garden and Nurseries, Mulch Supply, Central Jersey Nurseries, J.Klemmtz Lawncare & Landscape Services, Norz Farm and Landscape Materials Inc (LMI).
Briegs also thanked head custodian Jim Cox for helping the team get situated on a weekend, Home and School Association President Elizabeth Marcketta for décor coordination and volunteer Dana Shapiro for organizing many of the donations.
For more information on how to get involved in future Togetherhood projects, e-mail Karen Briegs (togetherhoodhillsborough@gmail.com) or Tracy Janssen (tjanssen@somersetcountyymca.org).
