Ward Melville students create a space for peace after a tumultuous year

After a stressful 2020 that seeped into 2021, two Ward Melville High School students have created a respite from a taxing world.

Harrison Rosenzweig and Andrew Vicari, who will be seniors in September, have taken a small spot on the south side of WMHS outside of the school’s greenhouse to create what will be known as the COVID Peace Garden. The garden was officially unveiled at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday, June 23.

The rising seniors wanted to create a space where the community could have a peaceful spot to reflect on the losses and lessons learned through the pandemic.

Rosenzweig said in a phone interview before the unveiling that the two came up with the idea at the beginning of 2021 when the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths were spiking. The data, the rising senior said, he would check regularly.

“I saw the amount of cases and I saw the amount of deaths, and I was like I know there’s nothing we can do right now — we can’t personally help other people — so, maybe we can just do something peaceful and nice to just add to the community,” Rosenzweig said.

Vicari agreed.

“We saw the cases going up, and it was just crazy to go through this together,” he said. “So, we really wanted to do something to give back to the community and put smiles on people’s faces.”

Vicari added they also wanted to honor the essential health care workers. The two were fortunate not to have anyone in their family or friends come down with COVID-19.

They decided to design a garden  — including a tree, flowers and a bench — feeling it would be a nice addition to the school grounds where students, faculty and community members could come and enjoy.

To raise money the students sold baby blue rubber bracelets that feature a small flower design and the words “Three Village Peace Garden.” They sold the bracelets online and with the help of school administration during lunch periods.

Preparing the garden began with visiting local nurseries to buy a tree and flowers. When they went to Olde Towne Gardens nursery next to the high school, and the owner heard about what they were doing, he donated the tree. Rosenzweig added that Stop & Shop in Setauket also donated flowers.

He said the plot they picked out had grass and a lot of weeds, so it took about seven hours to clean up. They also built the bench and designed a plaque to be placed on it. Rosenzweig said he and Vicari received some help including from his mom Susan who helped with planting, and Andrew’s dad who helped with wood cutting.

“The day that we finished planting the flowers was very relieving,” Rosenzweig said, adding they were concerned when they first saw how many weeds were in the area.

Vicari said the work was “surprisingly strenuous.”

“I wasn’t expecting it to be as hard as it was, but we actually got through all of it, and it’s all planted so I’m super happy,” he said.

Rosenzweig said while the work was tiring it was worth it.

“I was exhausted but seeing that — stepping back and seeing the garden — it was really nice to see what we created.”