Courtesy of a $634 Lighthouse Fund grant, Old Hammondtown School students will once again get their hands dirty in the Courtyard Garden Project.

“It was going good for a long time. We would harvest in the summer and bring the food to the Council on Aging,” Old Hammondtown teacher Kevin Tavares said. “But the garden is really tired. The boards are old and rotted, the soil is spent.”

When the garden needed an overhaul Tavares applied to the Old Rochester Tri-Town Education Foundation. Specifically, the Lighthouse Fund, which was created to support tri-town public schools.

The money will be used to build garden beds and walkways. Also, an electric heater will be purchased to extend the growing season.

In 2007, Tavares, a fifth grade teacher, developed it with donations from The League of Women Voters, Home Depot, and the Curriculum Leadership Center at Bridgewater State University.

Popular with students, the garden is an educational tool tied to the science curriculum. With guidance from Tavares, students develop schedules for watering, weeding, and maintenance. The garden is a year-round project as students volunteer time in the summer and after school.

Tavares plans to begin repairs this month with help from parent volunteers.

“I’ve got the lumber for the beds. It’s a matter of having them delivered, ripping out the old boards, and putting new ones in,” he said. “We’ll get the garden up and running again.”