The benches by the Northwest High School (NWHS) pond have been worn down throughout the years, showing exposed nails and rotting wood. This has made the pond’s environment unappealing and unusable for classes.
The Student Council (STUCO )leaders for the class of 2026 voted to have benches near the pond replaced. With the help of retired STEM and English Teacher Chad Hammond, NWHS hopes to have the benches built and installed soon. Hammond hopes to have the post holes redug and have new posts installed by the second week of May.
With materials donated from Lowe’s, the construction cost has been greatly reduced. As a thank you to Lowe’s for helping to complete the project. The Stuco leaders plan to make a donation to the Lowe’s foundation, “Sleep in Heavenly Peace”. The Sleep in Heavenly Peace Foundation builds and provides beds for children in need. According to the foundation’s web page, Lowe’s has been a sponsor of the foundation since 2011 through both manual labor and supplies discounts.
Due to rainy and undesirable weather, the project has had several setbacks; however, the building team continues to strive to rebuild the benches. Once the new posts are set, a group of student volunteers will work under Hammond’s leadership to construct the benches.
The benches will not be the only thing replaced; it is also planned to add new mulch to the area. Once the project is done, students and staff will be allowed to use the area for classes, projects, and pictures.
The replacements will be a huge upgrade, as, besides the addition of the fountain and a few replacement bridges, not much has been done to improve the area. The replacement of the benches symbolises how NWHS has continued to build itself up.
The benches and pond area were used all the time for classes and projects; however, as the area has deteriorated, classes have ceased to use the space as often. Leaving students to lack the experience and hands-on learning that the pond provides.
The benches started as an Eagle Scout project in the early 2000’s conducted by Axle Anderson, the son of a now-retired Metalshop and Woodshop Teacher, Doug Anderson. The pond later had a sign honoring Jack Beedy, a now-retired teacher who taught at NWHS for over 30 years. The pond used to be less visible because the area was heavily wooded; however, as many trees became sick and died, they were removed, making the area much more visible.
“Along the way, I think people forgot it was an Eagle Scout project because there’s not a lot of us left from around that time,” said Yearbook and Broadcasting Teacher, Marnie Hade.
The pond was drained by a Teacher, Raymond Bradley, who worked at NWHS for over 30 years, due to someone having added goldfish into the pond. As the goldfish grew, the pond’s ecology was disrupted, leaving the only solution: draining the pond to kill the goldfish and restore its ecology.
About three years ago, Biology Teacher Ronda Drumm and two of her Upward Bound Biology classes drew petitions and grants to add the fountain to the pond. The students added the fountain after finding no microorganisms in the pond due to extremely low oxygen levels and stagnant water. The fountain helped to oxygenate the water so ecological life could thrive. However, after about a year of use, the motor for the fountain stopped working due to electrical problems. If left untreated, the pond will start to become stagnant again, and the ecological life will suffer.
“I think those kids would love to see [the fountain] working again before they graduate,” said Drumm. “Kids who probably wouldn’t have thought they could make a change made this big change; they were excited, they were proud.”
The NWHS pond has grown and changed over the history of its life. The pond has shown that the students of NWHS can make a difference to their communities and the ecological life around them. The pond has built up the school and shown how people can come together to improve the community, so that everyone can enjoy it. The seniors rebuilding the benches symbolise how, even through years of wear and tear, the community can rebuild itself.
