Every Wednesday morning for the past four summers, students from the Orleans-Niagara BOCES summer school program have helped out in the Niagara Hospice Memorial Gardens.

These enthusiastic volunteers, ages 15 to 18, weed and groom the many flower beds. Beyond the task of pulling weeds, the students’ teacher, Judi Gewand, makes sure to turn every outing into an opportunity for lessons in life skills. Working together to spruce up the gardens, Gewand consistently educates her students on helpful methods of gardening, inspiring them to stay focused and connecting their present experience to other activities in which they are involved.

Gewand said she views the summer program as her “passion,” which she started as a way to provide her students valuable real-life experience.

“They are developing valuable skills here,” she said. “Many of these skills they’ll be able to take home with them and use.”

In exchange for their hard work in the gardens, the students always finish up the morning with a delicious treat: homemade cookies from Niagara Hospice House.

Though the students admit that they look forward to this tasty snack, Ryan Thompson made it known that he and his classmates would still work, even without the cookies, and, when asked what his favorite part of the weekly gardening work was, student Chris Bunnell said, “For everything.”

Niagara Hospice officials said they are grateful to have such extraordinary student volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering at Niagara Hospice, call 280-0748 or visit NiagaraHospice.org for more information.

Niagara County 4-H’er Courtney Luckman is a lucky girl, as she travels this month to the North American International Livestock Exposition Competition in Louisville, Ky., representing New York State.

Courtney already won—with her team, which included Matt Morrison, Tristan Peterson and Steven Quanz, during this year’s New York State Fair Animal Science Show in the Livestock Judging Senior A Team Division—a first-place, making hers a state champion team.

Dr. John Sauret has been named medical director at the Mount St. Mary’s Neighborhood Health Center, 3003 Ninth St., Niagara Falls. Sauret, certified by the American Board of Family Physicians, joins Dr. Jennifer J. Adamson, Melissa Fincher-Mergi and others who also are serving patients.