A conceptual sketch of the amphitheater project at Lenape Elementary School.

“There’s such an emphasis on the arts in our community, but we don’t have a performing space for children — or adults — that can seat a large number of people,” says Jenn Voorhis, president of the Duzine/Lenape PTA. “Our athletic teams are well taken care of, but we don’t have a place where our creative types can show their stuff.”

Not yet, anyway. But a plan to build a 500-seat performance amphitheater into the natural slope of an existing hillside at Lenape Elementary School is attracting a great deal of positive attention from people in the community even beyond the school district, says Voorhis. “It’s really wonderful to see how many people in New Paltz are coming together for this project.”

There are numerous ways, she says, that local residents have joined forces to contribute to getting the amphitheater built, from sponsoring “tribute bricks” to be installed at the site to donating their talents to build the project a website (Michael O’Donnell) and write grants (Steve Densmore of Choice Words). Local engineer Justin Dates of Maser Consulting designed the project and Mark Masseo’s landscaping firm will carry out the construction, with stonework contributed by David Kucera, Inc. of Gardiner. There are residents managing a GoFundMe site and the PIGLETS class at the high school — who practice community leadership through Participation in Government, Literature and Economics for Today’s Students — are putting together a big kickball tournament on June 4 with all proceeds going to the New Paltz Amphitheater Project.

The multi-tiered, semi-circular structure will be surrounded by stonework and natural landscaping. It’s been designed to work for smaller groups as well as serving its full 500-person capacity and will feature a portable, storable bandshell. Financing for the project will be done entirely through donations and fundraising efforts; no tax dollars are involved.

The amphitheater will provide rehearsal and performance space for students who currently share areas also utilized by PE classes, lunch period and band practice. But beyond the performing arts, the amphitheater will provide a striking setting for the annual fifth grade Moving Up ceremony and can be used as an outdoor classroom in good weather for any subject. And when not in use by the school, it can be rented out by nonprofit 501 (c) (3) groups in the community, with plenty of parking available at the site as a bonus.

How it started

The idea to build the amphitheater originated during a conversation between fourth grade teacher Liz Burdick and Lenape principal Audrey Wood, who had just taken the helm at the elementary school for the 2015-16 school year. As Burdick explains on the project’s Facebook page, “Audrey surprised me with a question I often ask the students at the beginning of the school year, but have never been asked in my 27-plus years of teaching. She asked, ‘What are your hopes and dreams for Lenape?’ After explaining how our school has developed a reputation for producing great class plays over the years, I lamented that we didn’t have a performance space of our own. We scrambled to share the cafeteria/stage during the few hours that there weren’t breakfast or lunch periods. We struggled with the acoustics of the space and the seating arrangements. We’d been creative, but…” Burdick says Wood finished the sentence for her. “Wouldn’t it be great if you could have an amphitheater?”

In considering the merits of such a venture, the two even thought of the same site as an ideal location: the hillside behind the gymnasium. Burdick says she left the meeting pleased that the new principal was a creative thinker who supported the arts, but thought that was probably the end of it. “Things like amphitheaters don’t get built at elementary schools. It just doesn’t happen.”

But as it turned out, that meeting set the wheels in motion. Wood spoke with PTA president Voorhis the following day, and learned that the PTA was on board for some fundraising. Voorhis, in turn, met with landscaper Mark Masseo, who confirmed that the hillside already had good drainage and would make an ideal setting for an amphitheater, minimizing the cost of construction.

Raising the funds

The estimated cost of the project at this point is $125,000. To cover any unexpected contingencies, the committee working on fundraising is aiming for $150,000. To some extent, construction will be completed when the funds are raised. But Voorhis says there is no time like now to act, and a completion date of May 2017 has been targeted. “The more creative, committed and consistent we are with our fundraising, the faster we can get this project underway,” is the philosophy of the members of the New Paltz Amphitheater Project Committee, made up of Voorhis, Wood and Masseo along with Jennifer Castle, Patricia Culp, Kim Helmstter, Kendra Soule and Rich Souto.

And they’re off to a good start. The New Paltz United Teachers (NPUT) union, led by Liz Burdick and school social worker Meri Lederer, enlisted parents, students and community members to put on a three-day production last month of “The Peanuts Sing-Along” with numbers from “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” which raised almost $2,000 to kick off the fundraising.

Tribute bricks

Currently the Duzine/Lenape PTA is selling “tribute bricks” to raise funds for construction. The durable Eco-Priora Unilock bricks in a granite color, engraved with the names of local residents, will pave the walkways and aisles of the amphitheater. School district policy dictates that the name of a business or commercial enterprise may not be used, but a tribute brick can honor someone special, commemorate a child’s school years or celebrate the family, whose name will now be a permanent part of the New Paltz landscape. Each brick can be engraved with up to three lines of 15 characters per line, including spaces. The wording could read “in memory of,” “in honor of,” or “dedicated to,” or (in the spirit of Charlie Brown), something along the lines of one brick recently ordered: “Happiness is having a sister: Annabel & Willa.”

The cost is $200 per brick. According to the PTA, if 400 bricks are sold, the project can break ground. Tribute bricks may be ordered online at www.NewPaltzAmp.org or a check made out to “Duzine/Lenape PTA” with “brick” in the memo line may be mailed to Lenape Elementary School, Attn: Duzine/Lenape PTA, 1 Eugene Brown Drive, New Paltz NY 12561.

Crowdsourcing and crowd-pleasing kickball

The GoFundMe campaign for the amphitheater is accessible from the NewPaltzAmp.org website. As of press time, $1,300 has been raised.

The Dream Team Kickball Tournament organized by the PIGLETS class will be held Saturday, June 4 at the New Paltz Sports and Recreation Park (Field of Dreams) on Libertyville Road across from the fairgrounds. (The rain date is Sunday, June 5.) The registration fee is $200 per team, with all proceeds benefitting the project. Teams may have any number of players, but only ten players can be on the field at one time. Competitive league play will happen from noon to 3 p.m. followed by family league play from 3-6 p.m. Registration must be done by Saturday, May 28. Winning teams will receive a free tribute brick. Concessions and family activities will be available at the event. More information is available by e-mailing NPZkickball@gmail.com or visit the NewPaltzAmp.org website.

A late summer auction

Come September, the Duzine/Lenape PTA will seek to raise $20,000 through an auction run by the BiddingForGood organization that puts together fundraising auctions for schools and other nonprofits. So far, according to Voorhis, committed prizes that will be available to bid on include rounds of golf at a prestigious club, tickets to see Jimmy Fallon perform, photo shoots with local photographers and a “season of play” with leagues that include the New Paltz Baseball & Softball Association, New Paltz Recreation Soccer and New Paltz Youth Basketball Association. A definite date for the auction will be announced when the date is closer.

More information and updates are available on the Facebook page “New Paltz Amphitheater at Lenape” or visit www.NewPaltzAmp.org.

Unionized school teachers in the New Paltz district were joined by congressional candidate Zephyr Teachout last week as they ramped up their efforts to reach a contract agreement with a public march along Main Street. (photo by Terence P Ward)

Unionized school teachers in the New Paltz district were joined by congressional candidate Zephyr Teachout as they ramped up their efforts to reach a contract agreement with a public march along Main Street in late afternoon on May 18. A stream of teachers and supporters in bright red T-shirts marched along the sidewalks from the middle school down to the Chestnut Street intersection, carrying signs echoing their frustration over the long negotiations. Other signs asked for supportive honks, of which there were plenty.

Before they began their march, Teachout told the crowd that education is the “infrastructure of democracy,” and needs to be properly funded. She later said that she’s seen a tremendous amount of budget stress on schools throughout the congressional district.

Union president Arielle Chiger said that marching the day after the budget vote was to make sure it didn’t impact that important vote. The informational leaflets members handed out as they walked begins with a thank you to community members for that “strong support.” However, the contract is fast approaching 700 days overdue.

New Paltz grads at last year’s ceremony. (photo by Lauren Thomas)

It’s that time of year again for students; bittersweet endings and exciting new beginnings. Highland and New Paltz schools will celebrate commencement for graduating seniors next week, with eighth graders in both districts participating in moving-up ceremonies.

New Paltz High School graduation

Students at New Paltz High School will claim their diplomas on Friday, June 24 at 6 p.m. Graduation ceremonies will be held on the Floyd Patterson Field at the high school. A PTSA-sponsored reception will follow. In the event of rain, graduation and the reception will move to the Wellness Center on the SUNY New Paltz campus. The decision will be made by noon that day and any changes that need to be made will be posted on the school’s website at www.newpaltz.k12.ny.us.

Graduating senior Darren Tsai is valedictorian of the NPHS class of 2016, earning the distinction with a grade point average of 101.354. “It’s a great honor,” he says. “It feels like the culmination of years of hard work and an affirmation of the time I’ve spent trying to achieve this.”

Tsai is a member of the National Honor Society. The son of Chingo and Chihyang Tsai of New Paltz, he is co-president of the Engineering Club and captain of the New Paltz Mock Trial Team. Tsai has been a member of the New Paltz Science Olympiad team and was a member of cross country and track teams from middle school up to varsity level in high school, although time constraints and injuries curtailed that activity this year. Tsai plays first trumpet for the NPHS marching and concert bands as well as the jazz ensemble. He was selected for All-County Band for four consecutive years, and he also writes for the school newspaper, The Maroon.

Tsai’s volunteer activities included teaching English to impoverished youth last summer, through the Assisting Individuals With Disadvantages program in Taiwan. He also volunteered at Elting Memorial Library, where he taught children the basics of chess and how to think analytically. Tsai plans to attend Cornell University in the fall, where he’ll major in computer science. He currently works as a survey and site manager for local firm Ted Clark & Associates.

The salutatorian for NPHS is Sarah Rubin, daughter of Peter and Leslie Rubin of New Paltz. Her grade point average is 100.866. She plans to continue her education at the University of Chicago, where she will study molecular engineering, followed by graduate or medical school. Rubin played clarinet in her first two years of high school and made a mark locally through her competitive softball achievements, including recognition as the Mid-Hudson Athletic League Senior Scholar Athlete this year. She, too, is a member of the National Honor Society and participates in the Science Olympiad, where she and Darren Tsai both earned medals in cell biology. Rubin was also awarded the University of Rochester’s Xerox Award for innovation and information technology.

Rubin’s extracurricular interests include teaching Hebrew classes and tutoring her NPHS classmates, and she is gaining work experience at Wallkill View Farms. “I am extremely honored to be the salutatorian of New Paltz High School,” she says, attributing the achievement to “the community and support system I have grown up with.”

New Paltz Middle School’s moving-up ceremony

Eighth grade students in New Paltz will mark the occasion of moving up to high school at a moving-up ceremony to be held on Thursday, June 23 at 9 a.m. at the Athletic & Wellness Center on the SUNY New Paltz campus. A “fiesta” celebration that afternoon was planned for Moriello Pool from 3-5 p.m.; no word from the district yet on an alternate location for the party given the need for pool repairs.

Highland High School graduation

Graduates of Highland High School (HHS) will don cap and gown on Thursday, June 23 at 7 p.m. Commencement ceremonies will be held on the football field.

Highland’s valedictorian is Alfred Worrad, who ranked first in his class with a grade point average of 102.03. The son of Cynthia and Michael Worrad of Highland, he plans to attend Clarkson University in Potsdam this fall, where he’ll study chemical engineering. During his years at HHS, Worrad served as captain of both the varsity soccer team and varsity track team. (A highlight for the scholar athlete came last year when his soccer team won the Section 9, Class B title.) Worrad also broke a 20-year-old school record last year for the pentathlon, an athletic competition composed of five different events.

Worrad is a member of the National Honor Society. He is the senior class vice president and president of the French Club and the French Honor Society. He participated in Science Olympiad this year, receiving medals in two different categories. His community efforts include participating in the annual town clean-up, collecting nearly 75 pounds of trash near the Bridgeview Plaza in Highland. “Getting out and getting involved in the community was a great learning experience,” he says.

The second-highest ranking graduate of the HHS class of 2016, with a GPA of 101.78, is Michelle Pirrone, who will deliver the salutatorian address at graduation. The daughter of Lynn and Joe Pirrone of Highland, she is also a very active student at HHS. She is the yearbook editor, a Science Olympiad medal-winner and a member of the National Honor Society, the Spanish Honor Society and the community service-oriented Interact Club. Pirrone played the xylophone in her freshman, sophomore and junior year, proud to have earned a perfect score in a music competition hosted by the New York State School Music Association. She plans to attend SUNY New Paltz this fall, where she’ll study mechanical engineering. Helping to organize two fundraising dances to benefit her friend, Sara Pironi, diagnosed with a rare cancer, was a memorable part of her Highland school years. “Helping others always makes a person feel good,” Pirrone says.

The Town of Lloyd historian’s office is creating a special tribute to graduating seniors this year, requesting pictures of the students’ parents, grandparents and siblings in order to make a photo display as part of what they hope to be a new annual tradition. Photos may be brought to Town Hall at 12 Church Street or e-mailed to highlandhsptsa@gmail.com.

The Highland PTSA is working with school administrators to host a graduation walk this Friday, June 17 at 9 a.m. beginning at Town Hall with a continental breakfast sponsored by the PTSA and local businesses. The town supervisor will recognize the valedictorian and salutatorian and the students will be able to view the display of photos created by the town historian showcasing the graduating class and their families. Then wearing their “Class of 2016” t-shirts, seniors will walk through the halls of Highland Elementary and Middle School one last time to be recognized by the students in each of the schools. T-shirts will be provided by the PTSA and local businesses.

Highland Middle School’s moving-up ceremony

Youngsters in Highland moving up from eighth grade to high school will celebrate the transition in a moving-up ceremony held on Wednesday, June 22 at the high school gymnasium.

New Paltz High School student Aryn Wesdorp was one of those instrumental in getting gender-neutral bathrooms installed at New Paltz High School. (photo by Lauren Thomas)

New Paltz High School now has two gender-neutral bathrooms available for student use. It was a non-controversial decision that was intended to be put into place as an administrative action, but due to an oversight it was not addressed until high school student Aryn Wesdorp collected signatures on a petition and presented them at a board of education meeting. The decision is welcome by Wesdorp and other students who don’t feel they conform to gender binary norm.

Pronouns and gender

It’s impossible to even interview someone who identifies as transgender or otherwise outside traditional ideas of gender without first discussing the problem with pronouns. These little words are intended as a shorthand that can replace names and other nouns in the course of conversation, and they serve that purpose quite effectively with one exception: pronouns carry with them an assumption about gender, and if it’s not clear whether an individual is male or female, it can get quite awkward.

Formal English has no gender-neutral singular pronoun, although it’s common — but technically incorrect — to use “they” if one is referring to a generic person and the gender is irrelevant, such as in this example: “If a person pockets a pen without capping it first, they may get ink in their pants.” Whether or not an English teacher would accept that construction, it nevertheless is an indefinite pronoun; when speaking about a known individual that doesn’t fit either gender, there’s really no official solution. The problem has existed ever since the notion that “he” as an acceptable generic for men and women alike was rejected.

The convention that’s being adopted by transgender individuals — those people whose gender identity doesn’t conform to their biological sex — is to select a set of pronouns that feels most suitable. While that flies in the face of pronouns being a generic shortcut that can be used without much thought, use of preferred pronouns means that the individual is not misgendered. Thus a transgender boy, who has female anatomy but presents as a boy, is likely to ask to be called “he” or “him.” It gets more complicated because not every transgender person necessarily identifies as the opposite gender at all. Genderfluid individuals, for example, may identify as more masculine or feminine over the course of time; agender individuals, by contrast, don’t feel that either “male” or “female” ever feels quite right.

Because there are a variety of gender identities, there are also many different pronouns. Some prefer neologisms like the Spivak pronouns (e/em/eir/emself/eirself), or sets based on zhe, hir, per, thon, fae and co; others try to adapt existing English pronouns such as they, it, and one.

Aryn Wesdorp prefers the pronoun “they” for referring to themself, and will be referred to as such during the course of this article. “I chose ‘they’ because it’s neutral, no matter how I’m feeling,” they said. While they understand that it can be challenging to remember one’s preferred pronouns, they said being misgendered can be quite hurtful.

The bathroom decision

Wesdorp, a member of the high school’s Pride Alliance club, said they decided to tackle the issue of bathrooms because they knew it would help them and some of their friends feel more comfortable. “It felt like something a leader would do,” they said, and they desire to be seen as a leader.

The same solution probably could have been accomplished by simply asking school principal Barbara Clinton, according to club advisor Lisa St. John, but Wesdorp “wanted to do it big.” She said that Wesdorp was nervous about presenting the petition to board members, but was pleased by the positive response.

That response was characterized by Superintendent Maria Rice expressing shock that gender-neutral bathrooms weren’t already a reality. As Rice explained, that was because she had thought she’d finalized that very detail last summer. “I take full responsibility,” she said. After attending a law conference that touched upon gender issues, she had toured the schools with other administrators to identify accommodations that could be made. “We had identified the bathrooms, but I never gave the directive to do it.” When Wesdorp broached the issue, all that was needed was to retrofit the doors to ensure privacy while allowing for access in an emergency, and to get new signage.

Acceptance

While the specific needs of transgender students are not precisely the same as those with orientations other than heterosexual, the issues of orientation and gender can and do overlap, making them natural allies. St. John said that the Pride Alliance is large for a gay-straight alliance; it has about 20 active members and that’s been the case for awhile. “It’s been very busy, and very active, for about six years,” she said. It’s a far cry from when she taught in Scottsdale, Arizona, and needed to obtain guidance from the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in order to help students even create such a club, despite that right being protected in law.

“Here, our administration is very proactive in terms of LGBTQ rights,” she said. “It’s such an amazing relief.”

That’s reflected in the student body, St. John said, the members of which she characterized as “mature” and a “very accepting community,” leading to the idea of gender-neutral bathrooms being “obviously a non-issue.”

Superintendent Rice said that she did receive two calls from parents who were concerned or confused about the broader question of accommodating the gender identity of students, which included privacy curtains installed in locker rooms and awareness that a child has the right to use a gendered bathroom which conforms with that individual’s gender identity. Since neither one called back after having a conversation about the implications, Rice assumes that it’s not a worry for either of them.

There have been transgender students attending New Paltz schools for years, the superintendent said, and this has just been a shift from accommodating them individually to doing so systemically. It was intended to be “ahead of the curve,” but for the snafu with changing those bathrooms. Embracing the diversity in the schools, she said, is “part of our guiding principles as a district.”

It was a different story in the Highland district when a transgender child requested accommodation in one school. There were many questions, and Rice said that superintendent Deborah Haab did an excellent job in holding a forum on the subject and having the district attorney there to explain the legal requirements that school administrators must obey. That has since become the model for how these questions are being addressed in other schools, now that they have become a central topic in the news.

“Children are far more accepting than adults,” Rice said.

If the level of acceptance seen by St. John and Rice were equally evident at the student level, Wesdorp might not have taken it upon themself to circulate a petition in the first place. They opted to use the girl’s room even when they would have preferred the bathroom for boys in part because some students called them names when they did enter the boy’s room. “They’re graduating this year,” Wesdorp said, meaning that that problem at least is behind them.

However, “It’s not that easy to be accepted,” they said, “even in as progressive a town as New Paltz. Some people don’t understand it,” and question whether it’s just an attempt for attention. “Their words can hurt you,” they said. “Not everyone is as open-minded as they should be.” They recounted the plight of a friend — now in college — whose mother kicked him out over the question of gender identity.

Overall, it’s transsexuals — those individuals who desire or have had medical assistance to transition between male and female — who are most likely to be subject to verbal and physical assault, but transgender people in general have still not achieved even the same level of societal acceptance as homosexuals. Wesdorp discovered the term “genderfluid” online with a friend a couple of years ago, and immediately felt it conformed with their identity. There are days when they feel quite masculine, but from time to time, “On the spur of the moment, I feel really girlie.” For Wesdorp, though, there are no plans for any medical intervention: “I’m fine with my body, thanks.” Other than fashion choices, the most outward sign of their gender identity is the name Aryn, which they devised by shortening their birth name.

Wesdorp and their friends do consider the bathroom issue a victory, even though unbeknownst to them it was in the works all along. Sometimes, great minds run along the same channels.

In the Courtyard Gardens at New Paltz High School (front row, L-R): Cathy Law, Cerissa DiValentino, Emily Denno, Nichole Schofield and Kayla Morrison. In the back row (L-R): Carmen Chu and Fiona Weinstein. (photo by Lauren Thomas)

Part sanctuary and part outdoor lab, the Courtyard Gardens at New Paltz High School are made up of 15 themed gardens connected within the larger space, each a vignette of self-contained beauty and each with its own focus.

The medicinal garden has healing plants, and the culinary garden edible herbs. The butterfly garden and bird thicket attract wildlife, and a Zen garden provides a place for reflection. The scented and “touch” gardens appeal to the senses, and a children’s garden contains miniature plants, baby’s breath and seashells. There’s even a “hidden” garden, shielded by miscanthus gigantes, a tall silver grass that conceals a path leading to a collection of mineral specimens.

In fact, tucked away as the entirety of the Courtyard Gardens are inside the high school grounds, the whole place is really a hidden gem.

It was initiated in 2007 by Cathy Law, AP environmental science teacher at New Paltz High School. When she first saw the courtyard area at the center of the school, it was nothing but paving stones and “I wouldn’t even call it soil,” she says. “It was fill, of the most horrific type; everything from plastic bottles to clay to lots of rocks and putrid red bark mulch. We had to remove everything, even using a hacksaw to get up the landscaping fabric covering it all.”

The initial design inspiration came from the High Line elevated park in New York City, which took a disused section of old railway on the West Side and converted it to a neighborhood-enhancing linear park with naturalized xeriscape (low maintenance) plantings. Law chooses plants for the high school gardens that will be similarly hardy and adaptable, bringing the students in on the selection process. “I try as much as possible to get native plants,” she says, “because that will support more native animals in this habitat. The idea is to make it sustainable as time goes on, to get more and more plantings that can really hold their own.”

The gardens serve as a “green” classroom for her students, with obvious benefits for science classes. Biology students can collect and identify insects and study ecological communities and bird behavior. Environmental labs use the gardens for scientific inquiry and research, making observations to investigate and interpret data before developing conclusions. “You can lecture in the classroom all you want,” Law says, “but until the kids get their hands dirty, it’s just hypothetical.”

Project-based learning — building a new garden bed or stone wall  — also allows students to learn how to work in teams to solve problems.

The gardens provide a number of benefits for interdisciplinary studies, as well. “One of my missions is to get more and more different kinds of classes out here,” says Law. (She likes to say that the Courtyard Gardens help ensure that “No Child is Left Inside.”) Former AP art student Mikki Flores-Amper (class of 2011) created an environmental sculpture (still there) incorporating a slab of granite and thyme, called “Don’t Take Thyme for Granite.” Photography students utilize the gardens, as do writing classes and foreign language studies.

And the Courtyard Gardens promote a positive school environment in general, hosting events that benefit the entire student population. Last year’s “Snacks in the Courtyard” featured a selection of international finger foods created by students using the bounty of the culinary garden. In addition to the camaraderie something like that affords, it educates students about food literacy and promotes healthy eating habits.

Not least of all, spending time in the gardens helps promote environmental stewardship by instilling a love of nature, says Law. “I like to see kids learn how to enjoy growing plants for themselves, because you have to love it and enjoy it to protect it, right?”

The Courtyard Gardens fill an area measuring 140 by 80 feet. (The culinary garden is actually off in an area of its own by the ball field.) Under Law’s guidance, the students construct and maintain the gardens. They’re taught basic garden design principles — Law favors Japanese concepts, emulating running water, for example, with dry pebble streams — and there’s a sense of discovery as one wanders throughout. There are many layers involved, from the textures and colors of more than 200 species of (mostly) perennials and grasses to cerebral details like the incorporation of the golden ratio into the design of the culinary garden.

The students get very invested in the gardens after working on them all year, Law says, with some alumni even coming back to help out. Matt Shelley-Reade and Josh DeJoy (class of 2013) have been working in the gardens all month long while home on break from college. Last year the two built a 30-foot-long curved stone wall there with another student.

“We both took AP environmental science here and liked Ms. Law a lot,” says Shelley-Reade about their return to help out. “We really enjoyed the gardens, so after we graduated, we wanted to keep up on it.”

“You learned a lot in the classroom up to the AP exam,” adds DeJoy, “but it was always great to be outside and see the fruits of your labor.”

Both say they see a big difference in the development of the garden since they were students in New Paltz. “It’s taken a huge leap forward,” says DeJoy. “It’s incredible right now, and it’s only going to get better. Ms. Law has done a great job with the themes and it’s pretty amazing how much time and thought goes into each garden; just the planning part, let alone the labor.”

Carmen Chu, currently a sophomore student in AP environmental science, says she thinks the hands-on experience working in the gardens offers a great way to get in touch with nature. “It’s a really good experience,” she says. “Good for the environment and the school community.” At the beginning of the school year, she wasn’t so excited about digging in the ground and gardening, she says, “because I hadn’t really done it before, but I really enjoyed it.”

Law takes care of the gardens herself over the summer with the help of volunteers who come twice a week to help out. (Volunteering is open to anyone, with that being one way the public can come inside the school to experience the gardens.) “A lot of parents do it, and friends and students who come by,” says Law. “The whole day is chatting and working together; it’s fun.” The Courtyard Gardens will also be open to the public on Friday, July 1 from 6:30-8 p.m.

Funding for the gardens is provided by the Foundation for Student Enhancement, the PTSA and Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union. Local landscaper Mark Masseo has donated a great deal of plants, says Law, and she also recently founded “Friends of Courtyard Gardens” to help support the project. Donations are tax deductible.

With a horticultural degree from Cornell, where she had a double major in geology and biology, Law has taught science at New Paltz High School for 15 years now. In addition to teaching AP environmental science, she serves as advisor to the Environmental Club and teaches Regent’s biology, astronomy, earth science and field biology classes. The design of the Courtyard Gardens has been influenced by her travels to botanical gardens in 56 different countries. The “silver garden,” for example, was inspired by a similar garden in Melbourne, Australia.

With the focus on native plants, Law gets many of the varieties from Catskill Native Nursery in Kerhonkson. She also grows many of the plants from seed in her garage, an effort that allows her to get the most plantings out of the funding available.

New in the gardens this year is a phenology trail, the first to be established at any high school in the state. Winding around the perimeter, the phenology trail allows students to record the life cycle of plants and butterflies to generate long-term data sets tracking climate change, a citizen-science program much like that at Mohonk Preserve.

Law hopes to get engraved plant labels this year for the phenology trail as well as for the culinary and medicinal gardens. Other goals include the acquisition of eight large igneous and metamorphic boulders for the geology garden and enhancing the butterfly garden to include more native plants. She’d also like to offer horticultural education on sustainable gardening techniques and teach Native American concepts of using plants for medicinal purposes.

A complete list of plant varieties in the Courtyard Gardens and more information can be found at www.cathylaw.com/CourtyardGardens.html. Contact Law at claw.newpaltz.k12.ny.us.