Senior Committee plans to move, update Memorial Garden for senior gift

Bearden’s Senior Committee has recently chosen to take on the job of updating and relocating the Memorial Garden.

Members of the committee noticed that the Memorial Garden was going unused and in need of an update, so they decided to do something about it.

It is currently in between the baseball field and the performing arts corner of the main building. It will be moved to the old location of the outdoor classroom, next to the tennis courts and across from the gym.

“It was (originally) constructed with a lot of wood, and all that wood is rotting,” Senior Committee president Will Gross said. “We also wanted to move it to a quieter place.”

This new location for the garden will be more peaceful and comfortable to use, as well as more impactful for students outside of the classroom.  

“Hopefully students will pass by it and see how blessed our lives are,” Gross said. “There are markers in the garden for students that have passed at Bearden who didn’t get to live out a full life that many of us are hopefully going to be able to have, and I think it’s just a great reminder that each day that we go to school should be cherished and viewed as precious.

“It will hopefully be a place where parents of the students who have passed can come and just find peace.”

The new garden will be constructed with paved concrete and a sitting wall for some quiet moments of remembrance. There will also be trees in the center of the garden and possibly an arbor marking the entrance. The committee is still working out some of the landscaping details for around the garden.

Senior committee has already raised about $10,000 toward the new garden, but are looking to raise about $2,000 more by the end of April. Bearden students can help fund this project in many different ways.

“We are having a food night at Chipotle by Cedar Bluff on April 3, so if any student comes by, buys a meal, and says they are with Bearden, then we get 50% of the profits,” Gross said. “Also, we are selling donuts on most Wednesdays in the mornings.

“Lastly, we are taking any direct donations that students or parents are willing to give. Cash is great or if they’d rather do a check just make it out to ‘Bearden Senior Gift’.”