In front of the new landscaping at Whispering Pines Elementary School were, from left, Sarah Alsofrom, Niki Muscarella, Principal Barbara Riemer and Marci DePalma. (Photo/Marci Shatzman / FPG)
Delray Beach
Whispering Pines Elementary School has new landscaping and will have new matching paint on its pillars in a community partnership with GL Homes.
The Bridges, one of GL’s family communities, is just down the street in bordering Delray Beach. So some of the children who live there go to the West Boca public school at 9090 Spanish Isles Blvd., according to Principal Barbara Riemer.
A $35,000 grant was enough to pay for landscaping and labor to buffer the school along busy Lyons Road on one side of campus. The school had no landscaping by the fence, so silver buttonwood was planted to screen the playground. The plant is described as having velvety leaves dusted with a silver gray color and makes a good hedge or small tree.
“We met as a group to decide on what to do with the donation,” said Marcie De Plaza, GL Homes’ chief operating officer.
A small stand of palms and some oak trees were already in place, so the buttonwoods were placed between them, Riemer said. As they mature, they’ll still allow enough visibility from the outside to meet the School District of Palm Beach County criteria.
Bright blue pillars outside will now be painted a soft taupe, a new color scheme to match the new construction in the school, Riemer added.
The Bridges has 591 homes and 600 children live there, said Niki Muscarella, vice president of sales. A new GL community nearby, Seven Bridges, will have 721 homes, she added.
The school population is 880, “and we’re A rated,” Riemer said.
-MARCI SHATZMAN
SUN-SENTINEL