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When Branham High School reopened in 1999, the school's landscaping left much to be desired, teachers and parents said.
The Campbell Union High School District campus had been leased to a private school for eight years.
"Everything was dead, and the dirt looked like cement," said parent Lorna Mackintosh, who became involved in the Home and School Club's Beautification Committee when her son, Kyle Dreyer, started high school in 2001.
Branham history teacher Matt Zehner, an adviser to the school's Recycling Club, called the campus a "barren wasteland."
Mackintosh and Zehner are nature lovers who wanted to see the campus reflect the integrity of the school.
Mackintosh's committee got students involved in sprucing up the school. The teens helped landscape areas with trees and bulb plantings, and they cleaned up litter and graffiti. Zehner and the Recycling Club raised the funds for plants and materials.
By the 2005-06 school year, their beautification efforts began to transform the stark campus.
The Recycling Club teamed up with the Key Club, led by math teacher Katie Barger, and the two groups tapped the Home and School Club for additional funding.
The two clubs chose one area of the campus to improve each month. The first event, however, attracted only 15 students, Zehner said.
"I really wanted to prove to the kids that with a little personal effort, you can get a lot done," Zehner said. "If you lead, people will follow."
That's exactly what happened.
The group's most recent effort on Feb. 18 was "Herculean," Zehner said.
On the Saturday before a weeklong vacation, 40 students cultivated seven Branham sites for four hours. The students planted a variety of perennial plants and composted and mulched neglected areas. They even put in a Zen rock garden with bonsai plants and sand patterns near the dean's office. The project cost more than $1,000.
Throughout the day, Hugh Cox's special education students pitched in with the beautification effort by irrigating the plants. Macintosh credits other volunteers and teachers for their expertise and help, specifically English teacher Rachelle Burnside and John Salberg for encouraging their students to give back to Branham.
"The kids are proud of their school, and it grows with every project," Macintosh said.
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Photograph courtesy Rachelle Burnside
