Schools join forces to spruce up Highway 99W

Students from C.S. Lewis and Newberg High School descended on the side opposite of Hoover Park on Highway 99W Friday to plant nearly 3,000 perennials plants from the NHS greenhouse program along the university’s newly-installed fence.

The 75 or so students from C.S. Lewis Academy, decked out in bright red T-shirts, were there as part of the school’s spirit of service program. The program occurs four times per year and requires the entire high school to close down for a day (similar to George Fox University’s Serve Day), and students and staff volunteer throughout Newberg.

CSLA teacher Vickie Fivecoat said that each year the school starts by volunteering with the Chehalem Park and Recreation District because the weather is usually nice and allows for pleasant work outdoors. “They’ve worked on the golf course before,” Fivecoat said of past projects.

The contingent of students from NHS’ greenhouse program propagated the plants before they were delivered for planting Friday morning. Horticulture teacher Peter Siderius said the program had employed 26 students through the summer to care for the plants.
They’re all perennials, Siderius said, and he expects “next spring and summer it will look gorgeous.” Newberg’s Early Bird Rotary Club donated the funds to grow the plants.

Story and photo by Luarent Bonczijk, the Newberg Graphic