MERLENE OTTEY HIGH SCHOOL: A GARDEN OF RESILIENCE BLOOMS AGAINST ALL ODDS

Students at Merlene Ottey High School enjoy the peace garden

If ever there was a prize perfectly suited for Merlene Ottey High School, it's the Resilience Prize in the recent Trees for Peace Competition. Organised by the Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, this competition saw the Hanover-based school overcome an astounding array of challenges to complete their peace garden in a short time span.

Their journey to completing their Merlene Ottey High School Safe Endz Tree for Peace Garden reads like a modern-day tale of Job, the central figure in the biblical Book of Job, with the students and teachers having to restart their efforts not once, not twice, but three times due to unforeseen setbacks. Yet, despite these seemingly insurmountable hurdles, they persevered, delivering their vision in time for the competition deadline.

"I predicted that the organisers would have a different award for us, as we are in our own class! I was sure that they would have to create something special for us," said Dian Foster-Wright, the Dean of Discipline at Merlene Ottey High, who spearheaded the garden's creation. Her words proved prophetic as the school was awarded the Resilience Prize, which was a testament to their unwavering determination. They walked away with a trophy and a cash prize valued at $15,000.

Known for her passion for safety, security and peace interventions, the competition was an easy sell to Dean Foster-Wright, who learnt of the competition from the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information and then her supervisor, Tajnah Rowe, the safety and security officer at Region 4. She set about mobilising support by presenting the project to senior prefects, student leaders, parents and co-opted the agriculture teacher, Leosdan Monteagudo Velazquez, in the process. Principal Joan Jackson-Cope granted permission to transform an area to the left of the administration block into a designated safe space.

The initial planting in Christmas term was met with relentless rain, pushing back the start of the garden until January. Undeterred, they mobilised efforts, soliciting suggestions from teachers, parents via the Parent Teachers Association, and various agencies. Their vision was ambitious: a vibrant, centralised garden using different colours to represent emotions, featuring a gazebo setting over an underground tank for psycho-social activities, creatively repurposed tyres, and even a small pond for fish.

A dedicated drumming area was also planned to allow students to express emotions harmoniously without disturbing classes. The aspiration even extended to including a spot for cooking soup during weekend father interventions, offering students a warm, comforting meal.

The path to completion, however, was fraught with tribulations. Their compost pile, meticulously started by Grade 7 students, was destroyed. Grade 9 students gathered 20 tyres for design purposes, but a gruesome incident involving a deceased cow near the unfenced school perimeter forced them to use many of the tyres for cremation, cancelling face-to-face sessions for a few days and depleting their supply.

Then came the multiple acts of sabotage attributed to the termination of pilfering of material left behind on the compound by roof contractors following the passage of Hurricane Beryl. This material was earmarked for the gazebo and other school projects. After each act of sabotage, which involved chopping up the plants in the garden, Foster-Wright said they still received generous plant donations from the students, community and beyond, including her former students from Glendevon Primary and Junior High in St James, where she was based for 18 years and who were positively impacted by her behavioural interventions.

The acts of sabotage finally ceased, thanks to the intervention of police personnel from the Hopewell Police Station and, remarkably, prayer. According to Foster-Wright, the officers were as frustrated by the repeated vandalism at the school. After the third incident, they decided to install a camera to catch the perpetrators. Simultaneously, Foster Wright and her team turned to prayer, and they had a breakthrough and were able to engage in the replanting of the garden without any further hiccup.   

With the February deadline looming, Foster-Wright and her team of students and parents refused to be defeated. "We were not discouraged, and we were not giving anyone the satisfaction of us finishing the garden on time," she affirmed. They found the grit, repainted tables, utilised a tent purchased during COVID-19 for psycho-social interventions, and made do without the planned gazebo. Grade 7 students meticulously set stones for various formations.

“We would meet at the school on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. and work till 5:00 p.m. – painting the walls and planting flowers. It was an experience for us, as the project pushed us back but also pushed us forward,” Foster-Wright explained, adding that, despite the setbacks, the students embraced the journey, adapting to circumstances admirably.

In the end, the garden has become a space for students to learn peace with others and peace with self, fostering hope and resilience. In fact, Foster-Wright deems the space as an oasis of resilience and a testament to the indomitable spirit of a school community that refused to yield to adversity.  Sometimes, classes are now held in the garden and Foster-Wright is quick to add that the students are very protective of the garden. The garden, she elaborated, now formed part of social intervention activities.

“I am not quick to suspend students, so I have the cricket intervention programme for students who would have reached tier two infractions [fighting and class disruption] and tier three infractions [smoking and cyberbullying]. Also, the community service programme is a significant part of our intervention, with the upkeep of the garden becoming a part of the community service programme. We do not have them cutting the plants but raking and cleaning up the place,” she noted, adding that some students are now interested in horticulture as a profession.

The impact extends beyond the students; teachers have been clamouring to buy cultivated plants, and the school hopes to expand the garden, adding herb sections and more seating. Having previously won an anti-bullying competition; the prize money will be directed towards fencing to better secure the garden from goats and new drums for their drumming circles.

The Trees for Peace Competition is an initiative responding directly to the flare-up of violence in schools and the need to create safe, restorative spaces within schools. These Peace Gardens are expected to serve as physical and symbolic representations of non-violence, providing students and members of staff with the environment and tools necessary to resolve conflicts peacefully and engage in introspection.

The winner of the competition was Sandy Bay Primary School in Hanover. Other winners included George Headley Primary School in Kingston, which won the primary school urban prize; New Forest High School in Manchester, which was announced as the high school winner; Avondale Preparatory School in Kingston, which received the early childhood institution award; and Maryland All Age and Infant School in Hanover, which won the social media award with more than 600 votes.