That's because nearly 50 volunteers -- including parents and their children -- participated in workdays held at the school on Oct. 23 and 24.

The volunteers focused their time and efforts on the garden bordering Bonita Avenue, said Havens parent Felicia Tudal.

Some work was also done to improve the lunch patio, and the new garden area near the Twohy Memorial Tree on Oakland Avenue. That tree was planted in honor of fourth grade teacher Joan Twohy's husband, who died several years ago.

A hose winder was also installed in the playground area.

Tudal and Renee Lippetz serve as chairpersons of the school's garden/grounds committee and organized the weekend workdays.

Ongoing school district budget cuts have resulted in a lack of money and manpower for such school site improvement projects, Tudal said.

Volunteers like Tudal and Lippetz have picked up the slack, and Haven's principal Teresa Susman is glad to have the help. "It's fabulous," she said. "There just isn't a way to have it be done through the district because of the tight budget."

Aside from helping to organize the event and donating her time, Tudal paid a crew from Oakland-based David Irias Gardening Service to assist in the improvement effort.

The Bonita Avenue area garden -- located near the corner of Oakland and Bonita avenues -- was in desperate need of a face-lift, Tudal said.

"That garden was planted years ago, and at the time was probably really pretty. But it had become completely overgrown," she said. "We took out a lot of plants out that had basically come to the end of their life span."

The volunteer gardeners were delighted to find eight petite dogwood trees under the overgrown vegetation.

Tudal thinks the growth of the trees was stunted by the lack of light and water they received. "By taking out these other plants, they'll have a better chance (for growth)," she said.

A host of bulbs, seeds and foundation plants replaced the overgrown shrubbery that was removed, Tudal said. "We planted about 300 bulbs - mostly tulips," she said.

Parents purchased and donated the bulbs, while Ace Hardware on Grand Avenue donated packages of seeds.

In addition Lippetz, who has a horticulture degree, and her husband, Greg, purchased and donated some foundation plants -- such as camellias -- and annuals to fill in the holes, Tudal said.

"We've really transformed the space," Tudal said. "It's going to look really pretty in the spring."

Susman said that a Piedmont couple that used to walk their dog down Bonita Avenue initially developed the garden in 1995 because they thought the area was unattractive. "It's always been a volunteer garden," she said.

Meanwhile, Tudal said that there are related projects -- primarily the addition of a sprinkler system repair -- that should be completed.

"We are looking for a sprinkler person or company to help us upgrade some systems and change out heads. We have a small budget, so we can pay for some supplies if they will donate their labor," Tudal said.

Looking ahead, Tudal and Lippetz will be passing the garden and grounds torch along to others, as their children are graduating from Havens this year.

But the pair has one final project planned -- improving a garden area on the Highland Avenue side of the school where established junipers abound. "It's a really big project," Tudal said.

Tudal hopes to encourage some local landscaping companies to come up with a garden design and donate their time and possibly some plants for this project.

For more information about the spring garden project or to help with the sprinkler repairs, contact Felicia Tudal at JTudal@aol.com.