You won’t be able to see it until next spring, but fourth graders at Waterman Elementary School have left the community a gift at nearby Doric Park.

The gift is a bed of daffodils that they planted last week to help beautify the area and also to remember their days at Waterman, the school they are attending while a new Gladstone Elementary School is being built.

“It’s a memory garden, and it’s part of our project-based learning,” said teacher Angie Hartley who worked hard to come up with a project that would leave a legacy while also improving a public space.  They are grateful, she said, that it has been a collaborative effort with the city and the community – including the Cranston Health Equity Zone, Westbay Farm in Warwick, and Durfee’s Hardware.

Durfee’s, a long-standing local institution in Cranston, contributed the approximately 50 flower bulbs that the children learned how to plant last Friday. Paul Durfee and other volunteers weren’t afraid to get dirty, kneeling down to show youngsters just how deep to plant the bulbs that currently just look like drab onions.

The students paid strict attention to their mentors, carefully cradling the bulbs until it was their turn to pick up a trowel and bury them in the dirt.

The students were assured that even though they can’t see their handiwork, nature will continue to do its job throughout the winter, and bright yellow daffodils will sprout in the spring.

Durfee said he is looking forward to seeing the daffodil garden and that the family store, which has been on Rolfe Street since 1929, is always happy to support community efforts – particularly programs that benefit youths. 

A grandson of the store’s founder, Durfee owned the business for years, but said it has now been transferred to his son Ryan. “He’s the future,” he said.

For the Waterman students, Hartley said, the future holds the promise of spring flowers planted on a sunny October day.

Editor’s Note: Barbara Polichetti, a Cranston resident, is a regular contributor to the Cranston Herald and Johnston SunRise. Contact Polichetti at barbarap@beaconmediari.com.