Esra Sardag
Contributing Writer
Students and staff volunteered to assist downtown residents and businesses with their spring projects in the annual Spring Thaw Out on April 6 from 3 – 5 p.m. and April 7 from 9 – 11:30 a.m. This year, the project aimed to clean and organize the plants in Mariah’s Garden, a small garden located on South Front Street and Walnut Alley, and overlooking the Susquehanna River.
The garden is a memorial to Mariah Quant, a Lewisburg resident who died in a car accident just hours before she was to receive her high school diploma in 2000. Her parents built the park with the help of other residents and local businesses to keep her memory alive. The garden contains plants that are all indigenous to Pennsylvania. All of the plants are different and bloom in different seasons so that the garden never completely dies throughout the year.
“It was really rewarding to interact with and give back to the community. It meant a lot to me that I could help out with something that meant so much to this girl’s family,” Karen Hecht ’14 said.
Volunteers mulched, edged the garden and pulled out weeds.
“It was great to be able to work outside on a nice spring afternoon to make a beautiful area for people to enjoy. I’ll definitely be taking advantage of it,” Carla Renner ’14 said.
The grand opening of the garden was on April 7 and the garden is now open for public enjoyment.