At P.S. 134, Hester Street worked with elementary school students to continuously improve the P.S. 134 Community Garden in Sol Lain Playground, and create outdoor learning environment. Every year, students became gardeners, artists and designers through their work in the garden, and created hands-on projects that serve a function for the outdoor classroom space, from signage to seating to planting. Through their work, students explored topics like tree identification, food production, and sustainability. Ultimately their work has made the garden a better place for future P.S. 134 students and the surrounding neighborhood.
In 2016, Sol Lain Playground was renovated as part of NYC Parks Community Parks Initiative. The new plans for the playground involved reshaping the P.S. 134 Community Garden, and in anticipation of this, Hester Street worked with the Park’s landscape architects to set aside space in the new design for a permanent public art installation. HST then worked with the school on a final project for the garden – a mosaic mural celebrating their outdoor classroom.
