Sheboygan North High students create about 50 mosaic stones for Meals on Wheels garden

SHEBOYGAN – North High School senior Calisha Harris said her grandpa loved the ocean when he lived in Florida.

She said she'd visit him before he suffered a head injury and had to move. Now that her grandfather suffers memory issues, Harris hopes the mosaic stone of a sea turtle she made for a community garden can spark his fond memories of the ocean.

“Even if it helps one person, it can change a lot,” Harris said.

Two North High senior art classes partnered with Fresh Meals on Wheels of Sheboygan County to create about 50 mosaic stones for the Sensory Garden. Stones depict various images of students' memories and inspiration — a butterfly, flamingo, lily pad, heart rainbow and kite, sewing machine and watering can.

“These are rock-star seniors,” North High art teacher Dannielle Arenson said. “They're awesome and they don't want to say it, but they're really great. I felt they'd be great at giving back to the community and leaving their mark and coming up with ideas that are meaningful.”

Before working on the mosaic stones, the classes received a nugget of inspiration when horticulture and produce team member Libby Schmitz brought in some herbs from the garden.

“It is nice to start to bring in the artwork and people's actual homemade elements to it because you get their thoughts and feelings,” Schmitz said.

The stones will be used as lawn edging, steppingstones or demarking a seating area in the garden, built over a two-year period. The new garden, behind the facility off Taylor Drive, aims to give individuals and families with Alzheimer’s a peaceful place to come.

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Its Figure 8 stone path is wide enough for wheelchairs to navigate around the garden, fashioned with hexagon plant boxes, trees and bushes. Some plants were intentionally picked for their sensory attributes, some very fragrant, colorful or soft.

“Sensory things can evoke memory,” said Jane Nauschultz, horticulture and produce manager for Meals on Wheels of Sheboygan County. “Like you walk in, and you know, you smell something that reminds you of your grandma's house."

Herbs include thyme, sage and lavender. There’s also the soft-leafed lamb’s ear and squeaky pig squeak. The organization is exploring auditory sensations, too, like dried-out seed pods that will rattle.

The majority of people Meals on Wheels serves are older or homebound, so individuals with Alzheimer’s were a target population for the garden, Nauschultz said.

“Food is the biggest thing — we're giving food to people, but we just have this other need to like, ‘Where else can we help people?’” Schmitz said, adding Meals on Wheels conducts wellness checks and library runs.

Sensory Garden will be open through early autumn

The Sensory Garden will be open June through September, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Friday. It will be closed for holidays. Pets aren’t allowed.

Some further additions to the garden could include more paths and a pergola.

To schedule a yoga class or group gathering in the Sensory Garden, call 920-451-7011 or email [email protected].

Have a story tip? Contact Alex Garner at 224-374-2332 or [email protected]. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @alexx_garner.

This article originally appeared on Sheboygan Press: North High seniors create mosaic stones for Meals on Wheels' sensory garden