A community service project to create a healing garden for veterans continues to grow thanks to students in Pickaway-Ross’ SkillsUSA chapter.
Started in 2017 by English teacher and chapter advisor Tea McCaulla, the Veterans Healing Garden at the Chillicothe VA features trees, walking paths and raised flower beds. All of the work is performed by students, chapter advisors Tea and Jennifer Widdig, school and VA staff members, chapter alumni and community members.
The chapter’s addition to the garden for the 2022-23 school year is a children’s garden, with a drum set — purchased with money raised from the chapter’s annual golf scramble — and three pieces designed and created by SkillsUSA members in the Welding program.
The pieces — two flowers and a butterfly — were the brainchild of Sydney McGlone, a senior in Welding. Tea said Sydney created a model of each out of cardboard.
Then senior Laramie Grubb and junior Hayden Flowers in Machining & Advanced Manufacturing used the models to make a 3-D version. Senior Avery Hartshorn, also in Machining, used that model to create a code for the lab’s plasma cutter.
Avery, Sydney, Pheonix McCoy (Welding) and Nadia Hendershot (Electrical) welded the faces of the pieces, which in addition to being artwork, are also part of the drum display.
Sydney then welded on pipes for stems and passed it on to junior Joel Houser (Auto Collision Repair) for painting. The paint was donated by Vitatoe Industries.
“This was going to cost over $4,000 and our students were able to make it out of scrap metal and donated items,” said Tea. “This was such a beautiful project to watch come together.”
Students who worked at the garden Tuesday to install the drum set, flowers and butterfly, and perform landscaping maintenance were Hunter Booker, Aaden Brown, Simon Coatney, Hayden Flowers, Nadia Hendershot, Noah Lancaster, Jax Layne, Braden McCann, Sydney McGlone, Makenzie Tackett and Braeden Wrestler.
Tea said the chapter’s next goal is to raise money for buy a xylophone for the garden.