This wasn't what any of the students at Judge Memorial or Juan Diego high schools would call a normal assignment: spending a day at the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Students were asked to observe, write down their impressions, take pictures, sketch, and most came away with a new appreciation for the cemetery and what it represents.

"I really looked at all the little details, and realized each grave site represents an actual person," said Michael Berry, 16, a junior at Judge Memorial. "A lot of these people don't have people to take care of them."

The students' work, along with that of participants in Salt Lake City's YouthCity Program, has been turned into an exhibit called "Sensing Urban Open Space: Landscape and Literature in the Salt Lake City Cemetery" that is on display at the City-County Building, 451 S. State, through Feb. 10. Community members are invited to stop in and view the artwork.

An opening reception for the exhibit was held Jan. 30. Rick Graham, director of public services, pointed out the importance of the students' work during his address.

"(The City Cemetery) is unique because of its location, landscape and because of its history," he said. "To get our students involved and have them discover, perhaps for the first time, what a cemetery is ... really tells a lot about the cemetery.... This is a perspective (these students) never, ever would get otherwise. It's very valuable to us as a city to bring the cemetery into the next stages of planning and benefit to the community."

The information gathered from the students' visit is one element needed for the Historic American Landscape Survey (HALS), administered through the National Park Service, to be completed. The HALS makes it possible for the Salt Lake City Cemetery to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places and gain National Historic status.

The student input is part of a community outreach portion of the survey. Once the information in the exhibit, which includes poems, sketches, photography and observations, is taken down, it will be sent to the Library of Congress as a permanent record.

Nikki Bown, communications manager for Salt Lake City Public Services, said the information will be invaluable for all residents of Salt Lake City.

"I think it's important for the residents and for the students who did it to see that the cemetery is a place for the living and not only a place for the dead," she said. "It's a place to ponder about the past and what's taken place.... A lot of people go walking through there."

Students said they enjoyed the experience too. Rachel Haisley, 16, a junior a Judge, said she thought it sounded a little morbid at first to spend an entire day at the cemetery, but her perspective changed after her time there.

"It's one of the better field trips I've ever taken. The cemetery was so relaxing," she said. "It heightened everybody's awareness (that) ... cemeteries require time and funds to maintain them."

Keawe Kali, 17, also a junior at Judge, said she was all for the idea of a visit to the cemetery, especially because she already enjoys going there. She still learned something new from the assignment.

"I never knew it was wearing down," she said. "(I enjoyed) getting to sit and relax and look at the sky.... As I looked around, I saw everything differently."

---

E-mail: twalquist@desnews.com