New School Partner: Rhine Landscaping
Our school entered into an educational partnership with our local landscaping company, Rhine Landscaping. Mr. Sinon, a landscape architect at Rhine, met with students and taught them how to design a landscape plan. As part of our partnership, Mr. Sinon will continue to meet with Mount View students each year and to help them evaluate our grounds and how we can improve them to create natural habitats, reduce runoff, and lessen our school's overall environmental impact.
Community Resource: Howard County Conservancy
The educational opportunities offered by the Howard County Conservancy provide our students with a tangible connection to the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Mount View appreciates the opportunity to work with the Conservancy and to coordinate educational field trips for our students on their property.
Project Donors and Volunteers:
Gemini Design Build:
Mr. Redman, owner of Gemini Design Build, worked with students to design and construct the tables for our outdoor classroom. Throughout the project, he encouraged students to hone their project management skills and to take significant leadership roles on the project. He also generously donated funds to help cover the cost of the tables.
Mannerelli Landscaping:
Mr. Mannerelli, owner of Conceptual Building and Landscape, worked with students to design the retaining walls and water feature of the butterfly garden. He taught students the structure of a pondless waterfall and how pond pumps work. He will also be helping them to construct the waterfall this spring.
Mrs. Ravasio
Parent volunteer and member of the new PTA Green Committee, Mrs. Ravasio led a group of students to remove a failing landscape bed and replace it with a native plant garden. Mrs. Ravasio designed lessons that taught students about key plant terms and requirements, and generously donated the cost to remove the old plants and purchase the new plants.
Mrs. Frink
Another parent volunteer and member of the new PTA Green Committee, Mrs. Frink worked with the student committee designing the butterfly garden. She helped them to learn about native plant species and the needs of butterflies.
Mrs. Blessing:
Parent volunteer, Mrs. Blessing, worked to find us donations and materials for our gardens. She also is volunteering as our parent representative for this application.
Mr. Connor:
Our groundskeeper, Mr. Connor, worked with students to find good locations for our outdoor classroom and garden. He patiently helped our students to understand landscape design and calculations for mulch. He was a great asset to our projects.
Ms. Sweeney:
Ms. Sweeney is the energy efficiency manager for Howard County schools. She met with students and taught them how to conduct energy assessments and how to evaluate phantom loads. She supported their efforts to save energy by generously funding the purchase of desk lamps for teachers.
Other Donors:
Home Depot - gift card for garden supplies
Mrs. Merza - staff member who donated garden supplies
The Student Government Association - funding for the classroom tables
Mrs. Merza - staff member who donated garden supplies
The Student Government Association - funding for the classroom tables
Other Volunteers:
Mr. Mehta / Mr. Moock /Mrs. Schubert:
These parents helped Mr. Redman and our student volunteers to build our outdoor tables on construction day. They took the time to let all of our students learn how to use power drills and to screw the tables together.
Ms. Coster and the PTA:
Our PTA supported our efforts to establish a Green Committee, and they collected cell phones at our "Back To School Dance" to help fund our outdoor classroom.
Mrs. Fedor and Mrs. Moore:
These parents provided support for the students running the Green Field Day. They helped with materials, photography, transportation, and refreshments. Their flexibility and assistance allowed the students to run the event successfully.
These parents helped Mr. Redman and our student volunteers to build our outdoor tables on construction day. They took the time to let all of our students learn how to use power drills and to screw the tables together.
Ms. Coster and the PTA:
Our PTA supported our efforts to establish a Green Committee, and they collected cell phones at our "Back To School Dance" to help fund our outdoor classroom.
Mrs. Fedor and Mrs. Moore:
These parents provided support for the students running the Green Field Day. They helped with materials, photography, transportation, and refreshments. Their flexibility and assistance allowed the students to run the event successfully.