For the past decade, Ben Davis has been going under a lot of amazing internal improvements. The commons was redecorated this year, and most of the classrooms have been renovated to a more modern style. On the outside, there is even a solar field in the works. Lauren Wyatt’s AP Environmental Science class has been working to beautify another part of campus, outside of door 20.

The project started on Tuesday as part of their final project for this school year. Students collaborated to create a plan for what will be included and how it will be completed, and they will be doing the work by themselves. The plans for the project were somewhat sudden, and therefore it is completely self-funded by Ms. Wyatt.

In this beautified part of the campus, there will be new pallet benches, bushes for pollinators to pollinate, berry bushes, trees, and stone walkways. The goal of this new area is to create a shared space between humans and animals.

The project is planned to go on until the end of the school year on May 31st, but if it runs over time, Wyatt will be completing the rest of the project for them. She wanted to give students a final project which they could look back on and see they made something lasting, so she’s dedicated to ensuring it gets done well.

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Creating this project has met a couple difficulties because of funding and the chosen space. They were unable to do any funding because of time, and the school is only providing some mulch, which would have been used in the area anyway. Additionally, the area chosen has a gas line and sewage lines underneath it, meaning their work has to be done carefully.

Among the specific plants that have been suggested to be implemented are New England Aster, Lupine and Bee Balm bushes, all of which are a delightful purple to match our school colors. Blueberry and blackberry bushes have also been considered to be included. Including berries is mainly to promote different animals to use the space as well, like rabbits.

Although all of these plans have been in the works for some weeks, students won’t know the exact makeup of the area until after it is completed. During the execution of the project, money restraints may make certain plants hard to get, and facing a gas line can be worrisome. Regardless, the plan is moving forward at a quick pace and will liven up the back of the building more than it is now.

As Ben Davis tries to go greener in the future, creating and maintaining shared spaces like this are essential to the campus. Next school year, stop by the area outside door 20 to see the changes and hopefully sit outside during a class. Not only does this project seem like it will be great, it also has great intentions behind it.