Last spring, for the second year in a row, the women from the Las Adelfas Garden Circle of the St. Augustine Garden Club assisted students in horticulture classes at FSDB complete a project aimed at campus beautification efforts. Las Adelfas member Cindy Nixon-Witt organized the project; she and several other members came to campus to plan the project with FSDB Garden Center Horticulture Teacher Jennifer Henningsen Palmer.
The St. Augustine Garden Club is a non-profit educational organization established for the general purpose of promoting horticulture, floral design, beautification, and conservation. The Las Adelfas Circle within the Garden Club focuses on environmental education, civic and residential beautification, and youth and community projects.
The FSDB Garden Center, a program of the FSDB Career and Technical Education Department, engages deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired students of all ages in learning the fine art of horticulture, with a fully equipped nursery and greenhouse. The Center is registered with the Florida Nursery, Grower, and Landscape Association (FNGLA) and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services “Fresh from Florida” campaign.
Planning efforts resulted in the selection of the mall area by the Kirk Auditorium. In this area, Circle members worked with Palmer and her Garden Center students to plant three raised beds. One raised bed is an herb garden to provide support for the FSDB Culinary Services program which also trains students in culinary arts. A second raised bed features a variety of beautiful flowers for the campus community to enjoy including those who visit the campus, e.g., FSDB Dance Troupe performances, FSDB Open Houses, and related events. A third raised bed has plantings that attract butterflies for Deaf Middle School students to enjoy; their classroom building is adjacent to Kirk Auditorium.
Handwaves to Las Adelfas Garden Circle volunteers, who purchased the materials needed and volunteered their valuable time to work side-by-side with FSDB horticulture students to contribute to school campus beautification efforts.
Submitted by Jenny Henningsen Palmer, Horticulture Teacher, Career & Technical Education Department
About FSDB The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind is a tuition-free state public school and outreach center available to eligible Pre-K and K-12 students who are deaf/hard of hearing or blind/visually impaired. At FSDB, students learn how to do more, be more, and achieve more, fulfilling our vision of preparing them for a lifetime of success. FSDB gratefully accepts private donations to support vital programs that directly benefit students and are not paid by state general revenue funds. For a campus tour or to inquire about eligibility for enrollment, contact FSDB Parent Services at 904.827.2212 voice or 904.201.4527 videophone. For more information, visit www.fsdbk12.org