Peace Garden Grows at Bradford Elementary School

No matter what time of the year it is, students at Bradford Elementary School will have a garden growing in their hallway. 

A large was mural of flowers was unveiled at the school on Friday, March 15, and accompanied by songs and poems. The idea for mural, called the Peace Garden Song and Mural Project, sprang from Montclair resident and artist Jennifer Levine and songwriter Scott Massarsky, of Oakland. 

“Our angle was, ‘How can we bring an arts project to the schools that’s unique and emphasizes peace making and mindfulness?’ said Levine.

The two came up with the idea of painting a song. 

Levine, whose daughter attends Bradford School, said Massarsky plays the guitar while she and students create a painting inspired by it. 

In the fall, Levine and Massarsky dropped by the school for three days, and brainstormed with the students ideas for the peace garden and lyrics for a song.  

Then everyone got to work.  

It was a schoolwide effort, said Levine. Students sketched out designs of blooming flowers of all different sorts winding their way up and down the three hallway walls; Massarsky played the “Peace Garden Song” they had written; and parents and teachers got involved, too. 

“It was really empowering for the kids,” said Levine. “It also seemed to have an impact not just on the kids that participated, but the whole school because they witnessed the process as it was happening.”

She added that the mural “raises the vibrancy of the school.” 

When the finished mural was unveiled on March 15, students gathered there to sing the “Peace Garden Song” which was also painted on the wall, and poems were read. 

The long-term goal, said Levine, is to do this project in every school in town — both public and private.