Many Dunbar students may have noticed the yellow caution tape that has been strung up recently around the Memorial Garden and have wondered what is going on. It’s simple: the group in charge of the garden is getting ready for a plant sale.

Friends and family associated with this trust work all throughout the year to revitalize the Memorial Garden , which sits behind the cafeteria.

The main contributors to this garden are the parents of Jesse Higginbotham, a Dunbar student who passed away in 2007. Jesse’s parents, Jerome Higginbotham and Rebecca Woloch, are founders of the Jesse Higginbotham Technology Trust, which raises money to try to give scholarships to technologically gifted students and to donate money to good causes.

The initial group of students who created the garden in 2007 chose native KY plants. The colors chosen for the flowers are there to represent the students who have passed. Yellow is representative of Jesse, while purple represents Hannah Landers and pink represents Josh Shipman, two other students who passed away while attending Dunbar.

According to the Facebook page for the trust, while trimming some of the trees within the garden, Jesse’s mother noticed that one of the branches looked like a J. “Last spring we noticed a curious branch formation in the top of the yellow-wood tree at the Dunbar Memorial Garden. It’s there again this year.

We think it’s magic,” said Woloch.

The benches that many kids use to eat their lunches on during the warmer months of the school year have been repainted purple in memory of the students. These benches also have designs painted on them in bright summer colors to represent the personalities of Jesse, Hannah and Josh.

Dunbar graduate, Anna Henning, planted a red maple tree in honor of Josh in 2009.  This year, the tree has grown quite well and has started to bloom just in time with the spring weather.

As a fundraiser to try to help gain more money for the garden’s maintenance, the Jesse Higginbotham Technology Trust and Dunbar’s Beta Clubs are planning the fourth native plant sale on May 11. It will be held under the entrance pavilion of Dunbar from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Perennial native plants will sell between $2 and $10, depending on the size and species.

If you are interested in helping improve the garden for next year’s group of students, you can go to the Jesse Higginbotham Technology Trust Facebook page for more information on which Saturdays they are meeting and at what time.

This garden helps to keep the memory of these students alive, and it provides a peaceful space to those who are going through a hard time. All students are invited to take part in this garden, through either helping to revitalize it or just enjoying the beauty and relaxation the garden has to offer.