Young landscape architects beautify park

By RICHARD A. ROSS

JEFFERSONVILLE, NY — Forging a beautiful and thriving community takes a lot of work and planning, but playing a role in the beautification of their town is something worth doing for sixth graders in Kelly Erlwein’s class at Sullivan West at Jeffersonville.

Working in conjunction with Jeff Enhancement of Main Street (JEMS), the students recently landscaped the area surrounding the new gazebo on Main Street, bordered by the Callicoon Creek and the Schadt Memorial Bridge.

The gazebo was funded by selling memorial pavers that will extend from the gazebo entryway to the sidewalk. Before dividing into small teams to plant the shrubs, the kids created a blueprint of the planting area, did research on which plants would suit the various areas of the park, juggled costs with projected income and came up with a working budget.

Cindy Szelinski and Courtney Horan planted a fairy rosebush along the backside of the garden. Joined by Evan Decker, Jocelyn Figueroa and Kendra Barker, the kids planted the roses adjacent to the railing that borders the creek.

The choice of roses for that area had to do with the idea of keeping kids away from the potentially dangerous drop at the back of the garden. Knowing that roses spawn lots of thorny briars, the kids figured the roses would do the trick while also providing a profusion of blooms.

According to Barbara Hahn of JEMS, the planting schedule will also include third and fifth graders, who have been growing flowers from seeds in their classrooms. On June 10, they will transplant the flowers to the area surrounding the village clock and the Veterans’ Memorial bulletin board. In the gazebo garden, evergreens will be decorated with Christmas lights at holiday time.

JEMS recently got a new gator for watering, donated by the Jeffersonville Chamber of Commerce. A flag to remember the victims of the 2001 World Trade Center attacks and the sacrifices made by many community members in the subsequent rescue effort adorns the east side of the garden. JEMS coordinator Dawn Erlwein and other JEMS members Frank Haskell, Larry Hoell and Barbara Yewchuk arrived early June 4 to begin digging the holes for some of the plants.

JEMS recently made a donation to the PTSO for playground equipment for the school. Community planning, cooperative efforts and hard work by young and old are bringing the community’s vision of a brighter town a step closer to a reality.