St. Augustine Prep senior and 2011 St. Mary alumni Daniel Biagi returned to his alma mater, St. Mary School in Vineland, to make an undeveloped dream of an outside garden for the science program a reality.
Each year, students at St. Augustine Prep complete a Caritas Project which is a community service endeavor that has meaning to that particular student. So Daniel said he chose his alma mater because “it was an opportunity to give back to the school that provided him with much more than just a quality education.”
Daniel was given the responsibility to design, obtain approvals, materials and donations of labor and money to bring the project to completion. With the help of many individuals and companies, Daniel was able to bring the garden to life.
“This experience gave me the opportunity to come closer to many people in my community such as Mr. Mark D’Onofrio and Mr. Dan Kuhar, Sr. both St. Mary School board members along with Mr. Steven P. Hogan, principal and Father Robert Sinatra, pastor of St. Padre Pio Parish that were instrumental in the success of this project. They listened to my ideas and gave me advice and approval on how things could be done. I spent quite a few hours with Mr. Jack Quinlan of Quinlan Well Drilling talking about the irrigation and water supply,” said Daniel.
After months of planning and labor, the new garden is complete.
Daniel returned to St. Mary School to harvest the vegetables he planted with some willing fifth grade students, Connor Allen, Avery Dortu, and Douglas Farinaccio. The crops included lettuce and radishes as well as other vegetables. Not only will this project help complement the science curriculum, the harvested food is being used in the school cafeteria, nourishing the mind, body, and spirit of the students.
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