A group of Montgomery County students recently completed the first “Green Corner for Everyone,” a pocket park designed to give residents a place to gather, enjoy nature, read, play and relax outdoors.
The initiative was created by students from several Montgomery County schools, including Magruder, Richard Montgomery and Walter Johnson high schools. What began as a way to complete Student Service Learning hours quickly became a larger mission centered on environmental awareness and community engagement.
They also found support by joining the Student Global Ambassador Program, a nonprofit organization focused on empowering teens and young adults through leadership development and community-based sustainability projects.
“I feel like if we don’t start, like, actually setting our foot down and taking action, nothing will change,” said Sofia Battistel, an 11th grader at Magruder High School. “I really wanted to become a part of a project that would create real change in the community.”
The students envisioned a welcoming outdoor space accessible to everyone.
“The biggest thing we wanted to focus on was creating a space that was accessible and a space that anyone could go and use and feel comfortable in,” said Max Weiner, a student at Walter Johnson High School.
The Green Corner was built at Neighborhood Church in Rockville after the students’ original location fell through, forcing the team to quickly regroup and find a new site. “We had to put our minds together and find a new location,” Battistel said.
For Pastor Mark Trinkl, lead pastor at Neighborhood Church, supporting the student-led initiative was an easy decision. “This was a student-led initiative,” Trinkle said. “They rallied everybody together to get it done and do it, and that is a really great thing.”
The students worked for months planning the space, securing funding and organizing volunteers. The final build day brought together more than 50 volunteers from the community.
The Green Corner now includes flowers, benches, gathering areas and native trees planted with support from the Reforest Montgomery program.
Kelsey Desmond, a forest conservation planner with the Montgomery Planning Department, helped connect the students with native tree resources and educational support. “I think a very hopeful and optimistic act is planting a tree, and it’s an investment in your future,” Desmond said. “And I think so too, is investing in high school students and young people.”
“Native species are really large, they mitigate a lot of carbon and they attract local pollinators,” added Desmond.
The students selected a native redbud tree for the space, a species known for its bright spring blossoms.
“I think it’s nice in a church setting for parishioners and other visitors to see a beautiful flowering tree. The leaves have different colors, so I think it’s a beautiful tree that will look nice for this setting,” said Desmond.
Beyond building a park, the students say the experience taught them leadership, teamwork and how to turn an idea into action.
“With the power of teamwork and working together and taking risks, you can really achieve any project or goal that you want,” said Richard Montgomery student Andrew Nam.
The team hopes this first Green Corner is only the beginning. Their goal is to continue creating similar spaces throughout Montgomery County to encourage community connection and environmental stewardship.
“I definitely think our project can kind of boom off like that,” Nam said. “I think it can encourage people in Montgomery County and all over our state to create green parks that are kind of like ours.”
