Students collaborate to beautify a development in their community. Photo credit: Kevin Devoe

Staten Island's Berry Houses has been made more beautiful with the introduction of bright, colorful flowers that were planted by students from nearby P.S. 11 in Dongan Hills and volunteers from Goldman Sachs, a global investment banking, securities and investment management firm.

Goldman Sachs provided a community grant to the school that spurred the flower planting project. "A parent who works at Goldman approached us about doing some kind of community project,"
said Barbara Neis of P.S. 11, who was

Maybe a future horticulturist? Photo credit: Kevin Devoe

one of the coordinators of the project. "We wanted to do something to beautify the development since some of the children who attend school here live at Berry Houses."

Approximately 50 fifth-graders from P.S. 11 joined Goldman volunteers to plant impatiens, begonias and pansies at Berry Houses.