During the 2017-2018 school year, various district representatives started the planning process for the Bridgeport Courtyard Garden. During the planning process, the Bridgeport Courtyard Garden went from a small portion of the area devoted to gardening and grew into the entire Courtyard area becoming a gardening area for the students and staff of our district.
December of 2017, the courtyard reinvention began with the custodial staff removing the mulch into reusable mounds, removing the landscaping paper and trimming the shrubbery so that it could be removed from the courtyard area.
May of 2018, "expert" equipment operators, Sam and Eric Haverty, sons of Bridgeport Middle School Principal, Anne Haverty granted their mom her Mother's Day wish and used their weekend to remove all of the shrubbery from the courtyard so that the gardening courtyard area could develop.
Mike Sechrest, instructor of Vocational Horticulture and Turf/Landscaping Maintenance for the Belmont Correctional Institute, gave his personal insight, knowledge, and planning guidance for laying the foundation for the Bridgeport Garden Courtyard. The community support granted by the Belmont Correctional Institute made the vision for the school district garden a reality. During the summer of 2018, the inmates were eager and astounded to see this project transform. The gentlemen desired to follow through with this project from start to finish, and in just 6 work days, they were visibly pleased to see the final project foundation completed.
The Bridgeport School District partnership with the Belmont Correctional Institutional has developed a continuing community support relationship in order to help sustain and assist with the further development of the district facilities.
Spring of 2019, the Bridgeport Middle School Gardening Club will plant perennials, annual flowers, fruits and vegetable which will sow the benefits of a beautiful courtyard and freshly harvested fruits and vegetables in the Bridgeport Courtyard Garden. This will become a reality with the guidance of Mr. Tom Javis, Ohio State University Extension Master Gardener,