The PS/IS 102Q Parents Association worked in collaboration with the New York Restoration Project to revitalize the school’s garden for its 102 anniversary. NYRP
Nov. 1, 2024 By Athena Dawson
A local public school in Elmhurst commemorated its 102nd anniversary by revitalizing its school garden.
PS/IS120Q, a combined elementary and middle school located at 55-24 Van Horn St., celebrated its anniversary this month by transforming its garden space with the New York Restoration Project’s (NYRP) Gardens for the City Program.
Members of the NYRP worked with parents to revitalize the school’s garden space.
Over a three-day period in early October, parents, guardians, and volunteers from the NYRP and its partner organization, Delta Airlines, transformed the school’s garden by removing dead trees and shrubs, constructing a gazebo and picnic table, raising garden beds, and assembling seating,
In celebration of the school’s 102nd birthday, the PS/IS 102Q Parent Association (Q102PA) invited parents and guardians to plant 102 bulbs of purple and gold flowers that are expected to bloom in the spring.
Volunteers from the PS 102Q Parent Association plant bulbs for school spirit. Photo by PS102QPA.
The project will continue with an Urban Agricultural Program led by NYRP representatives, who will introduce the curriculum to 8th-grade classes in mid-November. Corey Blant, Director of Urban Agriculture, and Genevive Harding, Urbran Agricultural Manager at NYRP, will lead monthly hands-on workshops on planting, trellis, pest and disease management, cover crops, and more.
Ferdie Lee, former president of the Q102PA, said the parent association felt the project would create a more welcoming environment for students and parents.
“We didn’t want our school just to be a place where [students] came to school and left. We wanted it to be a place where parents and students alike felt like it was a community where they could feel welcome there. So that’s why we felt that the garden was a perfect way to amplify that,” she said. “Our gardens in the front of our school were not pretty looking or functional…we had always thought how can we make this pretty so that people would want to celebrate their school and the space that we call ours.”
Members of the Q102 Parents Association volunteered to plant bulbs, put down mulch, and perform other tasks related to the garden project.
Lee explained that the Q102PA felt it was important to implement programs for students that could create a lasting, sustainable impact. “In the past years, we’ve always wanted to have sustainable efforts. We wanted to steer away from practices that are not sustainable. We didn’t want to do tchotchkes or those kinds of things for our school and our students. So we wanted to have perennials and things of substance so that we can not throw away things and make sure they come back every year,” she said.
NYRP’s Gardens for the City program works with community partners to create and provide gardens and green spaces to low-income and/or underserved communities throughout New York City. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
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