Exchanging marigolds for mums

WILTON — As summer has turned to fall, so have the marigolds been changed to mums in the Children's Garden at Bass Park.

Planted by Wilton Academy Hill and Cushing School students last May as part of the Miracle of Marigolds, the flowers have begun to wither and die.

Students involved in a new program at Academy Hill School, Kids Can, pulled the marigolds Tuesday afternoon and replaced them with 40 large mums and decorative cabbage plants.

This first community service project, one of three planned for this year for the group of students in grades three through six, provides an opportunity for students to do some things they might not otherwise have the opportunity to do, said teacher Brenda LaVerdiere. She and teacher Valerie Benton created the new program.

The group includes students who could benefit from some extra time together while exploring different things, school Principal Darlene Paine said. It's geared toward improving aspirations and setting goals.

"We want to give them the opportunity to think about their future and what they might want to do," LaVerdiere said.

Part of that exploration includes adult mentors from Barclaycard in Wilton and some students from the University of Maine at Farmington. Other projects will include other businesses such as Franklin Savings Bank, she said.

Employees of Barclays wanted to start a partnership with the school, Manager Jen McEntee said. The company allows employees two paid hours a month to devote to community projects, she said, but beyond that the volunteers are donating their time. A grant from the company purchased the mums for the group to plant.

The 100 full-time employees now working at Barclays have also been involved in other community projects, such as a fundraiser at the Blueberry Festival where funds were donated to Evergreen Child Development Center. The company matches the monies raised through their efforts, she said. They also participated in Relay for Life and are preparing to be involved in the Franklin County Task Force's Make Tracks for Kids. The Kids Can program is an ongoing partnership with the school.

Teachers wanted the students involved in some positive short- and long-term goal setting, and they plan to do some brainstorming and create a list of activities that they think they can do, LaVerdiere said.

There are also some fun activities planned for the group,which meets after school every other Tuesday. Last week they took a nature walk with their mentors, collecting items to make gnome or fairy homes.

The mum planting was planned for last Saturday but was rained out and rescheduled for Tuesday, providing another opportunity for the new mentors and students to get together.

"I like the activities, and they're (the mentors) so nice to us. I also like helping in the community," fifth-grader Alana Goodwin said.

Approximately 15 students are now involved in the program, but LaVerdiere believes it's just the beginning as students spread the word about the activities.

abryant@sunjournal.com