Every year for the past ten years Enterprise Elementary students have enjoyed seeing a miraculous project grow from seedling to harvest – literally. Students grades one through three take care of a garden on the school grounds, growing potatoes, pumpkins, onions, corn, carrots, beans, and sunflowers. Come fall, they gather the crops and have a “Harvest Festival.”

The garden area (which also serves as a terrific picnic area) is also used by science students who are studying plants and insects and art students for drawing and sketching.

However, some wild thieves (deer) have been enjoying the bounty of the garden in recent years, and have limited the harvest. So, the students decided to raise the money to build a deer fence to protect their garden.

The children began a collection that eventually raised a few dollars toward the project. “We didn’t have to raise a lot,” said Janell Yanke, first grade teacher. That’s because once the community at large heard about the endeavor local businesses came forward to contribute and Cory Miller Fencing, Inc. volunteered to put up the fence, donating Cory’s labor and materials for a gate. His wife, Dena, helped gather additional donations and Northwest Fencing, Wallowa County Grain Growers, Ted Hays Sign, The Nature Conservancy, El Bajio Restaurant, Jesse and Mari Miller, Bessie Rynearson and Tim and Debbie Gilbert all donated.

The Enterprise School District Foundation applied for and received a charitable grant from Pacific Power and Light that also contributed $500 to the project.