Courtyard by (Central) students
It was a beautiful day Wednesday, yet the few students in the open-air courtyard at Salina Central High School were mostly using it as a shortcut.
But that could change, with plans to turn the area into more inviting space.
The project got a boost Tuesday with a lunchtime announcement of a $600 grant from the Youth GrantMakers Council, an arm of the Greater Salina Community Foundation.
“You don’t see grown-ups out here doing this,” said assistant principal Reuben Montoy. “It’s students working on this, applying for the grants and deciding who gets them.”
And not even older students — two of those most involved are freshmen.
“It’s something we’ve been talking about for quite a while,” said Laurel Michel, who started working on the school’s climate committee about a year ago, including over the summer between her eighth-grade and freshman years.
Michel wrote the application for the grant, asking for up to $2,000.
“There was a lot of paperwork to do,” Michel said, adding she learned a lot in the process of filling out the application.

Reporter Michael Strand can be reached at 822-1418 or by e-mail at mstrand@salina.com.

full story