Getting a Feel

Students from North Putnam High School absorb a lot of useful information as they visit local businesses and DePauw University Friday for input on a multi-faceted project. Heidi Menzel (left), who heads the “Giving Garden” at First Baptist Church, talks with adviser Sheri Roach and the students inside Conspire on how to organize a community garden. The group also visited Starbucks to learn about running a successful coffee shop, and also heard from Bon Appetit at DPU about a variety of elements to running a small business, including sourcing locally-grown produce. With a grant through the My Community, My Vision program, the group is collaborating with the Roachdale Revitalization Cooperative Alliance to utilize an unused lot in Roachdale that will incorporate a community garden, a shelterhouse, a meeting space with a café, and exhibit space for a branch of the Putnam County Museum.