Emily Dewsnap shows off two of the murals her classmates produced for an outdoor classroom they created at Leominster High School as part of United Way Youth Venture program.

Leominster, MA - The window view from Leominster High School’s art classroom was anything but inspirational. The once outsized, tired storage trailer in an overgrown parcel belied the artistic and colorful walls inside with intricate drawings, paintings and tile displays.

Emily Dewsnap, who is now a junior, summed up the sentiments of her fellow students and Art Teacher Bruce Dean, of having to look out at the eyesore, “It wasn’t that pleasant.”

That was four years ago. Today it is a serene courtyard that has been transformed into an outdoor classroom with beautiful mosaic tile displays, thanks to Emily and the students who participate in United Way Youth Venture.

The program, which was introduced to the school four years ago by United Way of North Central Massachusetts, provides coaching, resources, and seed funding for young people ages 12-20 to create, launch, and lead sustainable community-benefiting ventures.

The students are empowered to indentify an area of interest or project, elect officers and determine a name.

In the case of Emily’s team, Nature’s Den, which has up to 20 students participating, the goal was to create an outdoor educational setting for the school. According to Gina Wironen, the program champion and a curriculum facilitator for the school system, the initiative had to be sustainable and part of the curriculum.

The students generally meet weekly after school for an hour or more. Initially, it was to clean up the courtyard. However, they couldn’t have tackled the project without some outside assistance.

Quality Masonry in Leominster donated over $30,000 of site work, masonry supplies and labor to help create the outdoor amphitheatre-type seating.

With the new space in place, the students of Nature’s Den turned their attention to beautifying their new classroom. Mike Amico, a senior, was approved to do an independent study on mosaic tile art with Mr. Dean, who helped set the stage for the United Way Youth Venture team to create six different designs displayed in the courtyard. The various mosaic motifs depicted scenes focused on music, art, theatre, a river and Van Gogh.

Not only did the school get a new space that is used by theatre, music, English, and Art classes as well as other classroom teachers, the students learned some valuable lessons.

“They are learning about teamwork, grant writing, problem solving and communication skills,” noted Mr. Dean, who is also an ally, a term used by United Way Youth Venture for mentors, for Nature’s Den.

For example, each year the students must raise funds for their team. This year they decided to make and sell tie-dyed tee shirts, which Emily was proudly wearing the day of the interview, and ornaments at the school and the Johnny Appleseed Festival. “We raised one thousand dollars,” noted Emily. That money is in addition to the stipend they receive from United Way.

The experience has helped Emily, who will serve as the president of Nature’s Den next year, to learn about her community and new skills.

Mr. Dean said the program can transform students. A former student and president of Nature’s Den, Becky Gallant, was in tears when she came back and saw what had been accomplished.

“Becky is considering being an art teacher because of the experience,” concluded Mr. Dean.

United Way Youth Venture program is in four Leominster Schools and is administered by Mount Wachusett Community College’s Center for Democracy and Humanity.