Students in Earl L. Vandermeulen High School’s AP Environmental Science class and the Environmental Club took a trip to Rocketship Park in Port Jefferson on Nov. 16 as part of a collaborative beautification project between Port Jefferson School District and the Port Jefferson Village Parks Department.

District Athletic Director Adam Sherrard and Superintendent of Parks Dave Melious had discussed how the Port Jefferson students could give back to the community and promote Port Jeff pride within the village. The duo came up with a plan to plant 200 purple and white tulips in front of the basketball courts at Rocketship Park. They were joined by science teacher Jonathan Maletta.

“Once the plan was in place the first person I thought to get involved was Mr. Maletta,” Sherrard said. “His students always do a remarkable job taking care of the environment and giving back to the community. The students all did an amazing job at Rocketship Park. I am looking forward to seeing all of the purple and white blooming this spring.”

The School District looks forward to collaborating on more projects with the Parks Department in the future. A thank you to Site One Landscape Supply for donating the tulips.

Students in attendance were Olivia Bianco, Anneliese Byrne, Katie Chambers, Eric Chen, Thalia Dorsett, Kyle Erickson, Savannah Florio, Jadie Hernandez, Michael Lipskiy, Madeline Matvya, Noah Mimarbasi, Myeda Nawaz, Gavin Onghai, Alyssa Passarella, Ottilie Philbrick, Brielle Procaccini, Cooper Reale, Mia Savino, Nicholas Smirnov, Carman Stanton, Charlotte Tishim and Julia Weinstein.

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Date Added: 11/20/2023