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A group of R.C. Edwards Middle School students recently gave back to the school by building a garden on the campus. Pictured are Austin Angeledes, Nicholas O’Donald, Julio Sanchez, Shane Craig, Caleb Martinez, Camryn Heinselman, Deputy Shannon Ellenburg, Eli Story, Cassie Lookhoff, Jacob Medlin, Jade Smith, Jordan Black, Nick Watt and Dakota Owens.

By Jason Evans

Staff Reporter

CENTRAL —There’s a new space to learn and relax at R.C. Edwards Middle School, thanks to a group of students who wanted to give back.

Students planted a garden and built a picnic table in a patio area at the school.

The students who took part in the project are Austin Angeledes, Nicholas O’Donald, Julio Sanchez, Shane Craig Caleb Martinez, Camryn Heinselman, Eli Story, Cassie Lookhoff, Jacob Medlin, Jade Smith, Jordan Black, Nick Watt and Dakota Owens.

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Jacob Medlin, left, and Nick O’Donald team up to work on a picnic table.

School resource officer Shannon Ellenburg worked with the students on the project.

“They had this area out back that had been basically run down,” she said. “They went in and they cleaned all this out.”

One girl built a gnome garden.

“They planted all these flowers in both the beds, (and) they built the picnic table,” Ellenburg said.

Work began on the project in March. Ellenburg applied for a grant from the school’s PTSO organization and was approved.

“All the funds came from the parents’ association,” she said.

Although school is now out for summer, it didn’t take long for the garden to become a popular spot.

“Now that it’s done, you see some of the classes are going out there,” Ellenburg said before the end of the school year.

Special education students have also used the garden often — it’s located right across from their classroom.

The garden also became popular with some teachers, who often took their planning period work to there.

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Teachers often bring classes to the garden for lessons. The spot is also a popular one for teachers during their planning periods. The school’s wireless network allows students to do their classwork in the new garden.

“They celebrate birthdays every month, and when they do their little snack parties, they go out there,” Ellenburg said. “The whole school has really taken part in it.”

Students keep the garden neat and tidy, she said.

“They pretty much take care of it,” Ellenburg said. “They’re really proud of it.”

Principal Jeff Duncan said he’s glad the students have had the opportunity to give back to the school.

“Through that, they’re learning responsibility, they’re learning about citizenship, they’re learning about giving back to the greater good,” he said.

Duncan said students can do their schoolwork in the garden, thanks to the school’s WiFi network.

“It’s a very unique space that they’re able to work in,” he said. “They’ve been able to do some really neat things.”

He said SROs like Ellenburg give students a perspective on law enforcement counter to ones often presented in the media.

“It really is an opportunity, with her as our school resource officer, to build some positive relationships very early on, in their young adult lives, about how they can interact with law enforcement,” Ellenburg said. “It doesn’t have to be anything that’s negative — it can be positive that they can get back from that. It’s about relationships.”