Sanfordville Peace Memorial receives national award

Warwick - The National Garden Association has chosen Sanfordville Elementary School’s Circle of Peace Memorial as one of 20 youth gardening programs nationwide to receive a “Remember Me” Rose School Garden Award. This award is designed to help schools and youth organizations establish gardens to honor the lives of those lost in the attacks of September 11, 2001. “This program was selected because of a demonstrated commitment to actively and creatively engaging youth in the gardening process as a way to promote conflict resolution, peaceful solutions and healthy relationships,” said Mike Metallo, National Gardening Association president. The grant was initiated by Beverly Braxton, who teaches the third- and fourth-grade Partners In Education (PIE) class at Sanfordville. She also runs a schoolwide K.A.R.E. Club (Kids Are Respecting Earth) where students develop social skills through their involvement in projects that care for the environment. Over the past few years, students in the K.A.R.E. Club have joined with other students throughout the school to care for and maintain the Circle of Peace Memorial that was created in honor of those who lost their lives in the events that happened in 2001. A rose garden will be a perfect addition to this peaceful sanctuary, Braxton said in the press release announcing the award. Sanfordville School will receive 15 to 20 rose bushes (valued at about $600) from All-America Rose Selections and educational materials from the National Gardening Association. Rose varieties will include varieties as well as “Remember Me” roses (Firefighters, We Salute You and Soaring Spirits), specifically bred to honor those lost on 9-11. To learn more about “Remember Me” roses go to: www.remember-me-rose.org. For more information about the memorial visit www.peacewallmemorial.org. People within the community knowledgeable able to lend their knowledge and expertise about planting rose bushes also are asked to contact Braxton at the Sanfordville School by calling 987-3300.