Scores of student-athletes, parents and school staff spent their Saturday this past weekend spreading mulch, pulling weeds and sprucing up Live Oak High School’s campus on East Main Avenue.
About 75 people—most of them Live Oak students—came out to volunteer for the campuswide work day on Oct. 14, according to participants and organizers. Student volunteer workers represented a variety of Live Oak sports teams and clubs, including the varsity and JV football teams, cheer squad, tennis, swim, leadership/ASB and other clubs.
The work was organized by the Live Oak Athletic Boosters, which sponsored the event and helped pay for some of the materials and snacks. Gloria Murray of the boosters and Morgan Hill Unified School District facilities director Ricky Carillo spearheaded the effort, Live Oak Interim Principal Glen Webb said.
Work included adding new mulch—more than one ton of tan bark—to planter areas, pulling weeds, pruning, planting and replacing dozens of campus trash cans with new receptacles decorated in Live Oak school colors, Webb added. The volunteer crews spruced up every area of the campus, including athletic fields, tennis courts, parking lots and the front of the schoolyard.
The school district provided equipment and some materials, and private donors gifted flowers and potting soil, Webb said.
The Athletic Boosters board members and Live Oak Athletic Director Michael Gemo were among the work day volunteers.
“Live Oak is a beautiful campus with great landscaping—which is now all the more beautiful with a few finishing touches, a dose of ownership by the students, and a fun event that brought Live Oak students, parents and staff together for a common cause,” Webb said.
A “highlight” of the work day, according to Athletic Boosters Vice President Brad Ledwith, was the installation of new flowers planted by Webb in the shape of the initials “LO” for Live Oak. Webb had planted a similar installation on the campus about 30 years ago, but it had been mostly lost to overgrowth.
On Oct. 14, with the help of volunteering students, Webb uncovered and cleaned up the area where the original LO was planted, and installed the new emblem—“restoring a piece of history and adding to the school’s charm,” Ledwith explained.
“The massive cleanup was not merely a physical restoration but also a rejuvenation of the school spirit, community ties and a testament to what can be achieved when a community comes together with a shared purpose,” Ledwith said.
