Elam Alexander Academy Celebrates Opening
of Sensory Garden
March 21, 2012
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Elam Alexander Academy at Burke Campus will celebrate the opening of the school's Sensory Garden with a ribbon cutting on Friday, March 23, 2012, at noon.

Renovations to the former Burke Campus were completed last summer as part of the 2010 Capital Improvement Program, allowing Elam Alexander Academy students and faculty to move from their former location on Ridge Avenue. During the renovation process, the building was redesigned with the students in mind to include such amenities as a nurse's office, living centers equipped with kitchens and laundry facilities, a computer lab, and a multipurpose room for physical education.

Although the interior renovations were complete, the school continued working on plans for a Sensory Garden just outside of the cafeteria's walls.

"With the renovation of the building, community stakeholder Joy Dyer helped us secure a grant from the Community Foundation," said Elam Alexander Academy Director Lara Sims. "This grant along with donations from a few other sources has allowed us to design a wonderful outdoor sensory garden for our students. The ribbon cutting will be a great kickoff for our students' spring planting."

Fruit-bearing trees, blueberry bushes, and flowering shrubs are just some of the plants that will take root in a butterfly garden area of the new Sensory Garden. The garden also will include an overhead shade sail, which has been mounted to the side of the building to provide shade for outdoor learning activities, and two raised beds on a concrete patio, which will allow students with disabilities to participate in planting activities.

Donations from grants and community stakeholders helped provide the foundation for the new garden, paying for everything from new playground equipment to the dirt and mulch that surrounds the newly planted trees. The largest donation came in the form of grants from the Community Foundation, which totaled $15,800. A donation from the Elam Alexander Trust also provided $2,000 for playground equipment, while businesses such as Scotts Miracle-Gro and local community members provided donations as well.

Elam Alexander Academy is located at 2051 Second Street. For more information, contact the school at (478) 779-3930.