When it rains on a corner of the joint campus of University High and Rincon High, a dusty and barren area south of the school auditorium turns into what has been affectionately termed "Rincon Lake," a water-logged, mud-filled pit.
On March 4, more than 50 students, parents, teachers and administrators from both schools worked with a local community organization, Watershed Management Group (WMG), to create a water-harvesting garden to replace Rincon Lake.
Tory Syracuse, project manager at WMG, taught volunteers general concepts about water harvesting and tool handling, then sent everyone off to work on the campus, 421 N. Arcadia Ave.
After several hours of digging, raking, mulching and watering by the volunteers, Rincon Lake is now the "UHS/Rincon Sustainable Water Garden."
Other improvements were made around campus that day as well. Students painted curbs in alternating school colors - purple to represent the Rincon Rangers and black and white for the UHS Penguins.
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In the Senior Courtyard and other parts of campus, volunteers planted shade trees. By the end of the day, 16 new trees were planted around campus, with another 11 to be planted later.
The idea to improve the campus had been brewing for the last couple of years.
Two years ago UHS submitted and failed to get a School Yard Grant from Watershed Management because the school didn't have a master landscape plan. So UHS students in Tom Tobin's advanced placement environmental science classes worked to come up with a master landscape plan. The UHS Parent Association donated funds to hire Tory Syracuse as a consultant for the class.
The second time around, master landscape plan in place, UHS won a School Yard Grant from Watershed Management. Parents from both schools donated money to buy landscaping supplies.
This event was Phase I of a larger vision at UHS/Rincon for campus-wide landscaping improvements.
