When a window frame in the garden shed at Orcas Elementary broke, it posed a hazard to the students. Mike Bartram, the father of K-5 farm-to-table teacher Mandy Randolph, decided to do something about it.

After determining the frame could not be saved, and unbeknownst to his daughter or the school, Bartram quietly removed the old window.

As a child growing up on Blakely Island, Bartram knew the value of resourcefulness and, since he had some milled cedar on hand from another project, set out to craft a new window frame. He measured and cut and, reusing the tempered glass from the original window, created a lovely new addition to the school’s garden shed, complete with a latch to prevent the window from swinging open in future storms.

With one simple act of kindness Bartram not only made the shed safer, but he also showed students the benefits of reuse, recycling and self-reliance.