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High school botany students present Jesse James Park website and QR-code plaque plan
Summary
Students presented a student-built website and fundraising plan to create QR-coded interpretive plaques at Jesse James Park; the site runs on a free Wix template, plaques estimated at about $105 each, and students identified local donor prospects.
A group of Crotty High School botany students presented a student-built website and fundraising plan to the Kearney Board of Aldermen proposing QR-coded interpretive plaques and a virtual tree tour for Jesse James Park.
Teacher Caitlin Fountain introduced the project as a Client Connection Project in which students work with outside clients to solve a problem. Student presenters described a Wix-based website that offers a virtual trail tour, tree and shrub identifications and a page for park news and fundraising. They proposed installing two plaques to start—one for the main loop and one for the horseshoe annex—and said plaque vendors list engraved plaques at roughly $105 each. The students said the website is active and can be updated by park staff or volunteers.
To fund plaques and materials the students suggested soliciting donations from local businesses. They identified several local organizations that have given to community projects in the past, including Kearney Trust Company (which they said recently sponsored the Kearney Turkey Truck with about $500), State Farm (they said a past donation was about $250 and suggested contacting agent Stella Spiking), Mojo’s Coffee House, Bayes Flower Shop, Price Chopper and Papa Murphy’s. The presentation included sample fundraising flyers and a demonstration of the live website and QR-code functionality.
Board members and staff praised the students’ work and asked practical questions. The mayor and aldermen asked about total cost and how many plaques would be needed initially; students recommended starting with two plaques and said the website development used a free Wix template. Parks staff and board members invited the students to present to the Park Board at a future meeting and thanked them for the project.
Ending: City staff and board members signaled interest in the students’ proposal and discussed next steps, including presenting at a Park Board meeting and exploring local sponsorships to pay for plaques and installation.
