WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES JUNE 21, 2018 9
‘Sensory garden’ opens at Middle Village school
Councilman Robert Holden speaks at the unveiling of the sensory garden at P.S./I.S. 49 with school nurse Cindy
Ciulla (left) and employees of Home Depot on June 14.
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Photo courtesy of Councilman Robert Holden’s offi ce
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BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
A unique new teaching tool designed
to get students to learn
outside the classroom is now
on display at a Middle Village school
thanks to a group eff ort from the local
community.
The sensory garden at P.S./I.S 49
opened on June 14 when school nurse
Cindy Ciulla cut a ceremonial red
ribbon alongside Councilman Robert
Holden and local employees of Home
Depot. With a self-professed interest
in horticultural therapy, Ciulla came
up with the idea more than a year ago
as a way to engage students’ senses as
they learn about nature, and Holden
helped connect her with the means to
get it done.
“I think for the students, it’s not to
be so much books in the classroom,
they need to get outside and interact
with the environment,” Ciulla
said. “And teachers can add it to the
curriculum however they want to use
it. I was so humbled, it was a wonderful
collaboration.”
The main feature is a wooden
garden arbor adorned with items
that appeal to each of the fi ve senses.
There is a tambourine hanging from a
chain, a wind chime, a weather vane, a
thermometer, a barometer, berries and
herbs, birdhouses and hanging plants.
A butterfl y garden is close by, as well
as an easel for teachers to use and tree
stumps for students to sit on.
Holden knew about Ciulla’s idea
dating back to 2017 when she first
presented it to the Juniper Park
Civic Association as a possible
feature to be built at Juniper Valley
Park, the councilman said. When
Ciulla reached out to Holden again
in 2018, the newly elected councilman
was able to connect Ciulla with
the Home Depot contacts he made
in speaking with the company
about its plans to open a store in
Maspeth.
Home Depot then donated “every
supply under the sun” to make the
garden a reality, Ciulla said, and employees
of the Glendale store joined
in commemorating it. While the plan
to build it at Juniper Valley Park fell
through, the unused space along the
side of P.S./I.S. 49 proved to be a great
spot for it, Holden said.
At the unveiling, Holden said he
admired the design of the garden and
thought “it’s just a really nice educational
display.”
A colleague of Ciulla’s at the school
also connected her with Christina
Kostaris from Harry’s Hardware,
adding another layer of community
generosity. Kostaris said that Harry’s
donated plants, potting soil and paint
to the project, and the decision to get
involved was an easy one.
“We like to help out, and for the kindergarten
class it’s so sweet of them to
be able to take care of this garden, so
how do you say no?” Kostaris said. “So
we’re just happy to help, it brightens
up the neighborhood so we’re happy
to do it.”
Ciulla added that one of the main
benefi ts of the garden is that all of the
kids who use it will be given responsibilities
to help maintain the plants,
and they have already come up with
ideas for how to make the space even
better.
“They’re excited. They’ve come up to
me and thanked me and they’re coming
up with diff erent ideas as well to
use for the garden, so hopefully we can
expand it too,” Ciulla said.
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