Ruth Stout (1884-1980), the American gardener and author, once wrote, “I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden.”

That’s what happened on Friday, Feb. 17. More than 55 students met at Pacific Beach Middle School to provide an early greeting to spring. The sixth to eighth-grade garden club students, along with school staff and community members, worked from 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. restoring a school garden on the south side of the campus adjacent to the new parking lot’s traffic circle.

PBMS has for many years had a successful onsite garden program. With COVID closing the school campus, the garden was left unattended. Then to complete the recent school modernization project, a large portion of the original garden was removed. The school was primed for a garden reboot.

Under the coordination of garden club staff advisor and school librarian Sally Kaufman, students assisted in shoveling the topsoil and compost mixture, bringing it by wheel barrel to the new metal planters, and filling them to the brim.

Other students prepped the storage area (The Garden Hut) for the garden club’s rakes, trowels, and supplies. Still, other students assisted with connecting irrigation lines. And here the story takes a unique turn – the primary mover and shaker for the successful garden work party was high school sophomore and Boy Scout Maxwell Chen.

Chen, an alumnus of Barnard-Mandarian and PBMS, selected the “restoration of the PB Middle School Garden as my Eagle Scout project. My middle school years were ones I couldn’t fully enjoy because of COVID. I wanted to do a project that will bring joy to students now attending PB Middle School.”

Chen, a member of local Boy Scout Troop 506, spent the better part of a year planning this Eagle Scout project, consulting with school staff and vendors, and coordinating the various aspects of his project. Once funding, donations, and supplies were secured, his project moved forward.

“Receiving donations from troop members, planter bins donated by Kevin the Epic Gardner, steep discounts from Home Depot for irrigation materials, and finally, the generosity of FOPBSS providing the topsoil/compost mixture, allowed my project to commence,” said Chen.

He added: “Without these people, this project would have taken longer. Thankfully, my community is filled with extremely kind and generous people.”

On Jan. 28, Chen and his troop cleared and leveled the school’s new garden site and constructed and placed the planter boxes. The irrigation trenching was completed by Feb. 5. On Friday, Feb. 17, the topsoil/compost mixture was delivered, shovels and wheelbarrows were at the ready, and more than 50 sixth, seventh, and eighth-grade students and students from Troop 506 arrived to connect irrigation lines and fill the planter boxes with the topsoil. By 2 p.m. the job was done.

“I am deeply grateful to those who have helped me and I am so happy to give back to the community,” Chen said.

There will be an Eagle Scout citation plaque placed in the school garden area to acknowledge the efforts of Maxwell and Troop 506 in the school garden reboot 2.0.

Now what? “Now,” said Kaufman, school garden staff coordinator, “the PBMS garden club officially starts right after school on Thursday, Feb. 23 from 2:50 -4 p.m. What we plant will evolve organically. There will be a mix of vegetables, flowers, and plants that will attract ‘beneficials’ like birds, bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies.”

Visiting with Kaufman, you are immediately aware of the deep affection and commitment she carries for the PBMS garden. In her long tenure as garden club coordinator she is so appreciative of the several Eagle Scout projects in the garden, the Little Library, the Peace Pole, support from PB Rotary, FOPBSS, and on and on.

“Money is always tight. With a limited budget, I’m hoping we receive seed and plant donations…especially flowers,” Kaufman said.

If you would like to donate to the PBMS garden, contact Kaufman at [email protected].

– Submitted by Cyril A. Reinicke