Poly High Dedicates New Campus Garden After Six Years of Plastic Pots and Pavement

Riverside Polytechnic High School celebrated the opening of its first dedicated garden with a ribbon-cutting ceremony May 26, the culmination of six years of work by the school's gardening club and its teacher, Glen Bagwell. For those six years, students had been planting in plastic pots on the heat-absorbing blacktop.

Bagwell knew a real garden space with plant beds would be perfect for the club. Poly's principal, Darel Hansen, and RUSD nutrition specialists Yamatzia Sanchez-Ugalde and Cynthia De Santiago agreed. The trio teamed up with Bagwell and negotiated with the district for a garden spot on campus.

The ceremony featured key speakers Bagwell, Brittany Richey (student wellness administrator), and Hansen. Each expressed gratitude to their peers and students for their help throughout their agricultural journey. After the speeches, a junior, Asher Kowalski, sang a cover of "The Field of Flowers" by Sixpence None the Richer.

The garden sits beside the entrance to the staff parking lot. Multiple raised wooden plant beds, each built by Bagwell, make up the new garden. Poly's soccer team and their coach, Rusty Bailey, a former Riverside mayor, helped with placing the bark that would cover the ground. The JROTC program at Poly helps move the paver blockers around. Teachers like Jeffrey Jambretz (AP Environmental Science) also supported Bagwell and his team throughout the development.

This fall, the club will begin planting edible produce and flowers for the first time in the new space. Staff and students from the club hope to turn the garden into an art exhibition zone. There could be shows featuring live music, art galleries, and small swap meets.

By Maxen Olvera