Welch K-Kids and Yamaha volunteers give school garden new life
Aug/11/2025
Welch Elementary students can enjoy a freshly renovated school garden thanks to the combined volunteer efforts of the community.
The garden at the school allows for an immersive learning experience where students can make connections with the real world, Welch teacher and K-Kids sponsor Mary Thompson said.
Over the summer, however, it started to lose its curb appeal.
“It was in much need of love. (It) needed more mulch, shrubs reshaped and many weeds taken out,” Thompson said by email. “We had a lot of rain over the summertime and it was overgrown.”
Thompson saw this as an opportunity for the school’s K-Kids Club, a Kiwanis International youth service program designed for elementary-aged students, to kick off the school year’s service projects.
Thompson also invited Yamaha Motor Manufacturing Company to join the revamp.
"A few years ago, we partnered with them (Yamaha) to help plant their pollinator garden, so it was meaningful to have them come back and support our project,” Thompson said. “Yamaha was quick to form a team and lend a hand, and it was truly special to have them partner with the Welch K-Kids again.”
Volunteers from Yamaha were just as pleased with the partnership.
“It was so special to work side by side with the kids,” Yamaha employee Yana Alpert said. “Their energy and excitement reminded us that even small acts can be beautiful. I’m proud our Yamaha team could be part of it.”
Yamaha wasn’t the only business to offer a helping hand in the garden revamp. Lowe’s donated 50 bags of mulch, and Thompson Tree Service delivered the mulch to the school.
In just an hour and a half, 29 volunteers from Yamaha, K-Kids and their families pulled weeds, laid mulch, trimmed hedges and completed various landscaping tasks to transform the pollinator garden.
“It was a perfect example of what it means to serve their school, show respect towards their environment, and to try to make it a better place in which to live,” Thompson said. “I'm very thankful to the Welch K-Kids families and our Yamaha partners who were able to come and give of their time and service.”
“I liked working in the garden because we worked as a team,” third grader Arina Ko said. “It made me feel amazing.
