SMCES holds ribbon cutting for new educational garden greenhouse

ST. MARYS – The blessing and ribbon cutting ceremony for St. Marys Catholic Elementary School’s new educational garden greenhouse was held on Wednesday afternoon, with representatives from the community joining students, faculty, and staff to celebrate the occasion.

St. Marys Catholic Elementary School Principal Debbie Slay welcomed everyone to the event, acknowledging the warm and sunny weather that prevailed for the occasion.

“God sure has blessed us today for this outdoor ceremony to dedicate our greenhouse,” Slay said.

The greenhouse is located in the garden area directly across from Queen of the World Church.

Slay described the new greenhouse as being a project that reflects the school’s spirit of growth, teamwork, and stewardship.

“This greenhouse is more than just a building,” Slay said. “It is a living classroom where you will learn about science and plants and soil but also about patience, responsibility, and the beauty of God’s creation. It will be a place where your curiosity will take root, learning blossoms, and faith is nurtured right alongside the plants.”

Slay credited Maintenance Manager Frank Ginther, Art Teacher Jesse Gradl, and summer workers Levi Ginther and Dennis Lindell with bringing the greenhouse from a vision to reality, and she expressed gratitude on behalf of all for their craftsmanship and dedication.

“For Mr. Gradl and Mr. Ginther, this is the kind of activity that falls under that ‘and other duties as assigned’ in your job description, so thank you for stepping up and doing something definitely outside of what

you would normally do day-to-day,” Slay said.

Slay also extended special appreciation to Master Gardner Diane Gillen for sharing her time, knowledge, and passion with the students.

“Our gratitude also goes out to all those who donated to support the garden project, the Elk County Community Foundation and the ECCSS Fund,” Slay said. “Your generosity

made it possible for our dreams to become a reality, and your contributions will continue to enrich the learning of every student who steps inside this greenhouse and into our garden.”

Slay’s final recognition was to the students who joined the school’s summer and after school garden camps.

“You rolled up your

sleeves, pulled weeds, turned soils, and planted the very first seeds of this project. Your hard work gave this garden its strong foundation,” Slay said.

Slay remarked that St. Marys Catholic Elementary School is excited to include the new greenhouse in its STREAM curriculum.

“This is a space where learning and faith will grow side by side,” Slay said. “So today, as we dedicate this greenhouse, let us remember that it stands, not only as a structure of glass and wood, but as a symbol of our commitment to helping our students grow in knowledge, in responsibility, and in faith.”

The blessing of the garden and greenhouse took place following Slay’s remarks.

Fr. Jeff Noble, pastor of Queen of the World Parish, shared a few remarks following the blessing, and he credited Slay for all of her own contributions to the project, describing the garden and greenhouse as being her vision for several years.

“The fruits of her labors are seen right before our eyes,” Noble said.

Noble also presented a blessed cross from the former St. Joseph Monastery

to be included in the new greenhouse.

“We were all blessed that somebody went to great pains to make a lot of crosses from what was their chapel,” Noble said. “As you can see, Mr. Ginther made a beautiful cross for the outside of the greenhouse, and I’m going to give this to us for the inside of the greenhouse, so that coming and going, we will always know, as we do, that the Lord is with us.”

Slay took back over to the podium and acknowledged that Noble had made one other donation to the project.

“Fr. Jeff has graciously offered an azalea plant, an offering from his childhood home, to grace our garden,” Slay said. “It is a humbling way to start on this new chapter in our garden, and we will think of him as we watch this plant in our garden grow in years to come.”

The azalea was planted with the help of student gardeners Marilyn Young, Aryah Pollock, Alana Wingard, Ava Cunningham, and Hadley Timm, while Garrett Trumbull, Luka Lahnovych, Bobby Jackson, and Clayton Kronenwetter watered the plant.

A ribbon cutting followed, with representatives from the St. Marys Area Chamber of Commerce and Elk County

Community Foundation joining in the occasion. Gillen was given the honor of cutting the ribbon following a countdown conducted by the St. Marys Catholic Elementary School students.

Students posed for a group photo before returning to class.

Following the ceremony, Slay explained that the new greenhouse is the latest addition to a garden area that has been in the works for several years.

The idea came about just under a decade ago as a way to utilize the green space located across from the church.

From there, a waterline was run to the site, and donations allowed a shed to be acquired.

“By the time that all happened, that

was years,” Slay said. “Then, it was Covid, so everything kind of shut down.”

Work at the site did not stop for long, and once it resumed raised beds were added, along with picnic tables.

Slay noted that all of the improvements at the site have been made under the direction of Gillen.

In addition to being a Master Gardener, Gillen is involved with the St. Marys Catholic Elementary School as a bus driver and also teaches the Good Shepherd program in the school’s atrium.

“She was here with our young students with the religious program that we have at school. Then, when we started to talk about the garden, she’s got a

farm, and she was like, ‘Yeah, I’d love to do that,’” Slay said.

Up to this point, the space has mainly been utilized during various camps, but with the installation of the greenhouse, Slay indicated that they plan to incorporate it more into their curriculum.

“Now, we can plant something in January and bring it out here,” Slay said. “I’m looking to add some more raised beds and do those kind of things.”

With the space continuing to be a work in progress, Slay remarked that any community support is always appreciated.

In addition to raised beds, electricity is also something they would like to add to the site, and Slay indicated

that they are considering possibly adding solar panels. Expanding composting opportunities has also been a topic of discussion.

“We talk about wanting a bird bath, bird feeders, all of those kind of things that we could do that would be out in the garden,” Slay said. “Every year we need soil to redo the beds and to do those kind of things. Little wheelbarrows would be amazing for the kids.”

Anyone interested in helping to make any of those future goals for the site a reality is encouraged to contact Slay.

“Someday, we should do fruit trees. We should have blueberry bushes. It’s just step-by-step watching it grow a little at a time,” Slay said.