Garden project a growing effort

When two Saratoga Springs teens heard that Mary's Haven, a community home for dying people, was in need of a few green thumbs, they put on their gardening gloves and started digging.

Kristina Nolte and Erin Byrt, parishioners of St. Clement's Church, worked on the new meditation garden at the home to fulfill the community-service requirement of their Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest achievement in Girl Scouting. They are members of the Hudson Valley Girl Scout Council Troop 237.

"When we saw the plans it didn't seem big," said Kristina. "We said, "We'll be done in a few weeks.'"

Several months later, they finally finished their project.

Place apart

The staff at Mary's Haven had been looking to transform its scrubby back lawn since the facility was in blueprints two years ago. The staff envisioned a place for visitors, volunteers and family members to think, rest and pray.

The Saratoga Leadership Program, a group of young area professionals, donated a detailed design, complete with a bubbling pond, brick patio and walkway, and complicated plantings -- featured crabapple, cherry and pear trees, as well as perennials and a low-maintenance butterfly garden.

All the staff needed were able hands to make their dreams a reality.

Teens step in

"We knew that they were looking for some help with landscaping, and beautifying it for the patients and families who are there," said Kristina.

The teens started in March with after-school shifts. Over the summer, Erin estimated that the two logged "over 200 hours," coming "almost every day" of their vacation to spent a few hours with the flora and fauna in the Haven backyard.

The girls also raised money to complete the project. They found themselves trolling the phonebook searching for contractors and companies willing to donate time and manpower to the project. A presentation to a local charity found the project's pocketbook a little richer. A phone call to an Albany bricklaying company uncovered bricks left over from a state job; they were delivered to the Haven doorstep at no charge.

Help also came from their families, friends and the St. Clement's youth group, who pitched in to assist with the things that needed more than two people to do -- cleaning the area, building arbors and the pond, and finishing mass plantings.

Working while learning

But most of the work was done by the two scouts, who found themselves riding "a learning curve" when it came to previously foreign subjects like plants, landscaping and bricklaying.

One of the most difficult aspects of the project, both Scouts said, was digging out and placing the brick patio.

"We wanted to make sure it was really smooth, so patients could go out in wheelchairs and not worry about bumps and cracks," Kristina said. "We started to work with old bricks, and it was tough going because they were so rough."

Learning while working

As a result of the effort, "I learned a lot about myself," Erin said. "I learned a lot about how I work. I'm a pretty patient person, and it takes a lot to frustrate me. I learned that if I set a goal, I really work at it. I'm really happy with myself that I was able to do a good job with it."

The two young Catholics said that they also learned a little about the importance of service to others.

"I think it's important that young people learn not to do everything for themselves," said Erin. "It's best, at a young age, to learn that they should give back to their communities. They don't realize how much their communities have given them. If you can help someone out, you should."

(The teens have been members of the same Girl Scout troop since elementary school and consider working on the award a culmination of "all their years of scouting.")

(11/11/04)