My name is Alenzi Baltazar, and I am an eighth grader in the Rachel Carson Middle School program. Rachel Carson is an option school in the Beaverton School District focused on Environmental Science. I went to Barnes for all of elementary school, and I remember there being a garden that we would go to sometimes. As a person with anxiety, I know how hard it was for me in elementary school to feel like I fit in with others. Going to the garden helped me calm down as I used my senses to ground my feelings and be able to go back into the classroom to learn.

I am currently working on my eighth-grade Action Project and would like to do something special for the kids at Barnes. My project is building a new sensory garden in Barnes's empty courtyard (closer to the school). I want to help kids know that if they need to they can go out into the garden and use their senses to be able to ground themselves and calm down. I also hope this garden helps kids who have special needs, having a hard time or just anyone who wants to be there to enjoy things like soft and fragrant plants.

I have been doing research on how gardens benefit students and mental health in young children. I am also researching the types of plants that are native and best for the space. I would also like to add informational signs so that as kids explore the garden they can also learn about feelings and how to deal with them by reading signs next to garden beds. I will be planning volunteer events to help set up the garden beds and hope to get current Barnes students involved in the building and planting process, too.

To make this happen, I need to raise the funds for the beds, plants, and supplies costing $2500.

Beaverton Education Foundation is supporting this project with a BEF Building STEAM 4 All match - DOUBLING your donation.

Please support this Sensory Garden for the students of Barnes Elementary!