Rutland High School students building wooden grow beds for Brookdale Resource Center

Students gain hands-on experience and teamwork skills while giving back to the community

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Students at Rutland High School are gaining hands-on experience while giving back to their community. Through a partnership with Macon-Bibb County, the United Way of Central Georgia and the Bibb County Cooperative Extension, the students are constructing wooden grow beds for the Brookdale Resource Center to teach residents about gardening and healthy eating.

The project is not only benefiting the community, but also the students, who are learning new skills and the value of teamwork.

“I am a person who cuts the boards,” student Justin Dumas said. “I get the boards, then we cut it and give it to one team to place it on a raised bed.”

The students work in multiple teams throughout different class periods to manufacture and assemble the planters. Each team specializes in a different part of the manufacturing process, but all of them work together to help streamline the process.

“We also have another group marking the boards,” explained Abigail Steedley. “When you mark the boards, it just makes a really perfect place to like put the nails, so when you do that, it helps us build the boards faster. We build like 5-6 a class period.”

The students are enthusiastic about the project and the impact it will have on the community.

“I think it’ll really help them,” Spencer Graham said. “I honestly do, just so that way they can get a kind of feel of other things, like try new things. Not everybody gets an opportunity to do this, so for them to actually get open to it, I think it’s a really good thing, and I’m so happy that we’re a part of it to help them.”

The students will continue working the rest of this week to ensure enough planters are prepared for Brookdale.