Volunteers dig in for Dommerich garden rebuild

Under a glaring sun, volunteers braved the sticky heat of a Florida summer morning to help rebuild the aging garden at Dommerich Elementary.

With shovels and tools in hands, the Rotenberger family — alongside a handful of others — dug away at the earth under them, pouring sweat in the process.

The old, rotting garden beds already had been removed to make room for the newer ones — which were made from a composite plastic called Lumberock.

“This year, (the) PTA fundraised for us and gave us the grant for rebuilding, and so we planned it for this summer when school was out,” said Lisa Rotenberger, who teaches at the school and serves as the garden coordinator. “And David (Rotenburger’s husband) works for a construction company, and he was willing to use the same plans we had before to rebuild.”

By using Lumberock, the hope is the six new garden beds — one for each grade at Dommerich — hold up better than the pressure-treated wood that was used when the beds were first put in eight years ago.

“It won’t rot in the dirt, so hopefully, we get more than eight years out of it,” David Rotenberger said. 

The planning for the current project — which should be complete on Saturday, June 30 — started last year.

Getting the beds set-up is relatively easy — the Rotenberger family and their 12 to 15 volunteers are taking two Saturdays to get the work done — but make no mistake, those hours seem a bit long thanks to the unrelenting summer heat.

From about 8 a.m. until noon, the volunteers put the garden beds together, while also digging spots to place the wooden legs. 

Despite the hard work, the reward has meant a lot to the volunteers and the Rotenberger family — especially considering they were a part of the first garden established out in the green space at Dommerich.

The original project that started in the summer of 2010 was part of the couple’s son, David’s, Eagle Scout project. The idea came from one of the teacher’s on the school’s “green team,” and from there, David decided to make the garden happen.

Once the beds are finished and the irrigation system is checked, everything will be in place for the upcoming school year.

For students, there will be three different planting seasons throughout the year, which includes; a “literature in the garden” in the fall; the growing of salad greens during the winter; and then an activity that will coincide with their science standards in the spring. To add to the last growing season, there also will be life cycle gardens for butterflies.

With those plans already in the works, Lisa Rotenberger said getting the kids out to the new gardens will be worth all the time and sweat put into Dommerich’s new green space.

“It just brings me joy, because the children will have a new and nicer space to learn,” Lisa Rotenberger said. “We just know that it has done well and that makes me feel very proud, and just thankful to the PTA for all their hard work in helping us raise the money for it. It’s just a very peaceful place down here, and it brings a lot to the school.”