Students Help Transform Former Gas Station Into Green Space
SoBro Conservancy Board Members Tom Denny and Carol Godette pose with students in front of a
student-built shed. The shed will help transform a former gas station site at 209 South Broadway in
Saratoga Springs into a green space. Photo provided by WSWHE BOCES.
SARATOGA SPRINGS —The site of a former gas station at 209 South Broadway will soon transform into a green space, thanks in part to a shed built by local students.
The SoBro Conservancy of Saratoga wanted students to gain experience by building a shed needed for the green space, and contacted the WSWHE BOCES Career and Technical Education division to assist. In spring 2023, John Coffinger and his construction trades students at the Southern Adirondack Education Center in Hudson Falls signed on as partners for the project and began work on the 8’x12’ shed. Construction was completed in early March. The shed will house the garden tools, hoses, and the brains of a timed drip irrigation system.
Major funding for the shed construction was provided by the Community Support Program of the Saratoga Springs Rotary Club. In early May, SoBro will plant three large beds full of native, pollinator-friendly perennials and shrubs.