Pathways to Accessibility

The garden at Barre City Elementary and Middle School is unfunded in the school budget. However, the citizens of Barre, the school staff and garden volunteers value the opportunity for students to experience raising a wide variety of produce which is served in the school cafeteria. To make that happen, many small donors have made financial contributions for operating costs.  But the project in front of us will require professional help and substatial funding.

Unfortunately, the garden is not easily accessible for students and staff that have mobility challenges. Our project will provide an even, smooth and safe surface for people who use wheelchairs, walkers, etc so that they may experience gardening with their classmates. The entry way will be paved and then branch off in two pathways. One paved path will lead to the accessible gardening beds and the other path will lead to our perennial flower beds.

The landscaping company Green-Scapes has already made two site visits to design the project and outline the specs.

They are eager to breakgound in late October of this year.

This garden was founded in 1996 but fell dormant and neglected in 2006. In 2013, two parent volunteers asked for permission to revive the garden. The results are amazing and the students are delighted. Some students were missing, however, because it was too difficult to get them to the garden physically or because there was little that they could do when they arrived.

The student that you see in our pictures was asked to design a bed that would meet her needs. She requested the stabilizing rail on all four sides, a place to hang her tools and a height that would allow her to stand while she worked. These features also allow many other sudents to use these new beds. 

Our 7th and 8th grade students built this bed this spring. This addition to the garden is very exciting. There is still the one problem of sloping and rough turf around those new beds and throughout the garden.

This project makes the garden safer and more welcoming to our entire community. We have many elderly visitors that will greatly appreciate having level pathways in the garden!