Garden Beds Planted for Woodland School Learning

The Morris Township PBA Local 133 helped build garden beds for planting at the Woodland School on Saturday.

When the weather warms up, students will be using the beds to grow plants and flowers that will later be studied in the school's classrooms. The project was a collaborative effort between Woodland School Principal David Gidich and the PBA group.

"The Morris Township PBA Local 133 does so much to give back toward the community through monetary donations for residents in need, sports programs, scholarship programs, educational programs within the school system, etc.," Local 133 President Heather Jones said. "After such devastations like Hurricane Sandy, we collectively wanted to come together as a union and do even more for the residents in Morris Township by participating in some community outreach programs where we could personally interact with residents."

When the PBA group learned the principal would be doing most of the labor to install the plant beds himself, Jones said Local 133 jumped in and offered to help.

The plants and flowers that will be grown in the gardens will later be used in the classrooms for lessons. The following Local 133 members assisted: Heather Jones, Chris Vargas-Vila, David Xenitelis, Jason Lawlor, Carmen Piccola, Mark McGuinness, Juan Rodriguez, Ryan Farrell and Steve Crump.

Jones said Gidich had also informed her that the school's student body had been challenged to "go green" and recycle lunchtime waste by the Woodland Home and School Association. 

"These student efforts resulted in a third place win in the TerraCycle recycling contest sponsored by Capri Sun and Walmart. The WHSA then donated materials to build a raised bed garden in the back of their school," Jones said