Students Get Their Hands Dirty in Lakewood

A Lowe’s truck rolled up on Tuesday morning. And employees from the national chain got their hands dirty alongside the students.

Last year, the school’s horticulture teacher, Mark Rathge applied for — and won — a $5,000 grant that provided supplies.

So on Tuesday, the Lowe’s Heroes crew pitched in to help students from the constructions trades program at to install stepping stones around the plant boxes for the school’s new Outdoor Learning Lab.

An official dedication is set for May after the students put the plants into the ground. 

The lab, located at the high school’s visitor’s entrance, will be made up of four raised planting boxes, housing perennial flowers, shrubs and vegetables, said Christine Gordillo, communication specialist.

Last year, the Lakewood Garden Club contributed $4,000 and helped raise nearly $20,000 to build a 3,664-square-feet outdoor learning lab for the school’s horticulture program.

The completed project will add “a significant dimension to the current horticulture program by linking indoor classroom and greenhouse knowledge with the external natural environment,” according to a press release.