DUMMERSTON -- A plan to install an accessible path outside Dummerston School came together thanks to a strong fundraising push by a group of students.

Hailey Cogliano, 11, said she and other students learned during library class about another project involving children making a playground that's accessible for everyone.

"We all had this crazy idea to create a walking path and now it became a reality," she said.

Construction on the approximately 0.5-mile path began the week of July 7 after fundraising goals were met through a matching challenge donation from local community member Tim Knapp; sixth grade events, bake sales and cold calls to businesses; and small fundraising events including bingo and raffles. Students also secured a $10,000 donation from ArborClimb Tree Service during the last week of school that put them over the finish line.

Ellen Rago, library media specialist at the school, said the students were inspired by a segment of "On the Road with Steve Hartman," a show which she sometimes shares in classes. After the project began rolling, Knapp came forward and offered to match any money raised.

Dawson Newton, 12, runs a hotdog cart called Newton's Curveball Concessions that helped bring in funds.

"We asked Walmart for $100 worth of hotdogs and buns, and we did that twice and raised $1,000 at the Putney Food Truck Park," he said.

Alan Manix, 11, recounted "freezing" during a bake sale held at a Dummerston recreation soccer game in the fall, where about $423 was raised.

"It's the main thing I remember," he said.

Food sold at a school-wide dance in January brought in about $650. Max Rago-Marker, 12, said students from all grades at the school and their families were invited.

"Pretty much every step of the way, they raised way more money than anyone should at any of these types of things," Rago said of the students. "It was nuts, it was bizarre."

Leo Neeper, 12, said the students also reached out to businesses to ask for donations. He called the contribution from ArborClimb "pretty massive."

More than $13,000 was raised by the students then matched by Knapp. Rago said the group of students met every Wednesday at lunch then held a couple of meetings outside of school.

Hailey hiked and biked the path with her family on a recent Sunday.

"It's super fun," she said.

With Dummerston School having students with mobility needs, Rago said the path will be "great" to get them out on the campus. She also sees it as a benefit for the whole Dummerston community.

A family involvement team at the school already had a vision for putting the path in, Max said, but students offered input on the project.

"I don't know that it would have happened, honestly, without them," Rago said of the students. "I certainly don't think it would have happened this summer, without them."

Rago said the students reached their fundraising goal three days before the school year ended.

"I think it was cool to see our plan come to life," Alan said. "It was really fun."

Dawson said the project required all its participants and contributors to pitch in.

"It took all of us to do it," he said.

Fundraising was entirely student driven "except maybe the calls to businesses," Rago said.

"Those I had to push for a little bit," she said.

She applauded the students' planning and organizing.

Julianne Eagan, principal, commended the students and staff involved with the project.

"The students had such an amazing vision for creating a path that would be inclusive and accessible, not even just our students but people in our town of all ages," she said. "And what's really great is how so much of this at Dummerston has been the silver lining of COVID."

When Eagan started at the school in 2019, she had no idea the pandemic was about to hit. But during that challenging time, the community thought deeply about how the school campus could be used for coming together.

Parents built a walking trail in the woods. Gardens were expanded. Playgrounds were reinvigorated. Outdoor classes were created.

Eagan said the path is "this final piece," however, it fell outside the original budget. When sixth graders learned about how other children were making a difference in the world, she said, "they were like, 'This is something we want here.'"

"It fit in with this concept we have been talking about," she said.

Eagan described Dummerston as "a tricky place to be a pedestrian."

"It can be tough to find roads that you feel safe walking, running and biking on," she said. "So this really opens that up, and we're just so excited to be the steward of this trail and all of this land."

During earlier campus projects, Knapp helped build an amphitheater on the playground. The fifth-generation Vermonter grew up in Dummerston and is an alumnus of the school.

"I'm in love with the place," he said. "I'm in love with public schools."

Knapp said students took ownership of the project and were excited to learn that every dollar they raised meant another dollar coming into the project.

For about 20 years, Knapp worked for a retailer in Bangkok and traveled to different countries. Now, he's retired and back in Dummerston "living on the land pretty much where I was born," he said.

"Coming back home is a trip," he said.

Knapp credited Jessica Nelson, other parent volunteers, students, and families who donated.

"They all made it a real community effort," he said. "I'm so happy that not only the students will have the trail but it can be enjoyed by everybody in the community."

Jonathan Royce of Dummerston, owner of ArborClimb in West Chesterfield, N.H., said his daughter attends the school, his wife teaches fifth and sixth grade classes there, and his son will eventually go there, "so we spend a lot of time at the school and on the playground."

"It was kind of cool seeing this project of getting a walk path of all access everyone would be able to use, which I thought was a major asset to the community," Royce said.