Sometimes the best projects are the ones you don't plan. A routine stop at Ocoee High School to help with their Hustler mower (they needed tires and service) turned into an extreme overgrowth cleanup in the school's ag department. The livestock pens and animal enclosures had gotten swallowed by tall grass and weeds over time, mostly because the school avoids pesticides and herbicides, so everything has to be handled by hand.

The goal was simple: tidy up the space so students can enjoy the program more, and feel proud of the area where they learn hands-on skills.

The ag department at Ocoee High School isn't just a small garden behind a classroom. It's a working livestock area where students raise animals and show them at the fair. That also means the grounds take real upkeep, and when summer hits, weeds do what weeds do.

A teacher summed it up in plain terms: "We got a lot of weeds and stuff that have grown up over the summer." Time and manpower are always tight, so even when people care, the work can fall behind. In this case, the overgrowth didn't just look rough, it started to hide problems that could turn a normal mow into a disaster.

Since the school doesn't use herbicides, there's no quick spray-and-walk-away option. Everything becomes a manual job, and a lot of that responsibility lands on teachers who already have full plates. That's part of why stepping in for a day matters. When you knock out the worst of the overgrowth, you give the program a fresh start and a little breathing room.

Even better, this kind of cleanup changes how the space feels. Students walk in and see a place that looks cared for. That can help them take ownership, enjoy class more, and stay excited about learning skills many schools don't offer anymore.

This cleanup also came with a nod to someone who's built a whole channel around helping others. Sean Stockman, from Midlife Stockman, travels to people and places that need a hand cleaning up their property. He shows up, works hard, and leaves things better than he found them.

After connecting with Sean and hosting him in Orlando, some of the same gear he used was brought out for this project. The idea was not complicated. Show up, get dirty, and do something useful.

You don't need a big plan to help your community. You just need to start, then keep moving.

That mindset fits places like school ag programs perfectly. They're important, they're hands-on, and they often run without the kind of budget that keeps everything looking sharp year-round. If there's a "do something awesome" challenge that makes sense, it's this one: find a local program that teaches real skills, then help them keep the space usable and safe.

Big grass can make people reach for big machines. Still, the best tool is the one that matches the risks on the ground. For this job, the star was the STIHL FS 94 R, a trimmer that can run hard without feeling clunky.

This FS 94 wasn't fresh out of the box. It's the same model that survived a previous "let's see what happens" kind of test (including getting "fed" Mountain Dew) and kept going. Sean also used it in his own cleanups, so it already had a track record in real overgrowth, not just light edging.

That matters because school properties can be unpredictable. Grass gets tall, debris gets forgotten, and the ground hides surprises. A trimmer that stays steady when you push it wide open is a big deal when you're trying to make progress without stopping every five minutes.

The line setup was just as important as the powerhead. The FS 94 ran STIHL 1.5 X line, which fit the job better than lighter string. In thick weeds, thin line can snap, bog down, or force you to take tiny bites all day. Heavier line helps you keep cutting, especially once the engine is warmed up and you're working at a steady pace.

This project was also tied to the shop behind the channel. Main Street Mower is a mower shop in Central Florida, and the online store ships across the United States (except Hawaii).

If you want to see the exact gear mentioned, these links match what was used and discussed:

• STIHL FS 94 R gas-powered string trimmer

• Main Street Mower online store

• Chip and Stu's Favorites collection

Buying through the store supports the channel, but the bigger point in the video was simple: bring the right tool, and the job stops feeling impossible.

Before cutting anything down, there was a walk-through with the teacher to pick target areas. At first glance, it looked like "just grass." A closer look told a different story.

Under parts of the overgrowth, there was tarp material buried beneath the grass. It was old enough that getting chopped up wasn't a big concern, but it added another layer of mess to manage. Nearby, there were also bricks and other bits that could get launched if you charged in too fast. One shed in the area looked run down, which added to the feeling that this corner had been getting slowly swallowed for a while.

Then came the big reason to stay cautious: hidden stumps. Thick grass can cover a stump so well you won't see it until a blade hits it. That's the kind of hit that can ruin a mower deck in one second.

On top of that, the site had working infrastructure running through it. Irrigation lines were hard to see, and there was electrical running through parts of the area, plus pipes, hoses, and who knows what else tucked in the weeds.

Here were the main problem spots that shaped the plan:

• Tall grass hiding obstacles, including stumps and old posts

• Buried or half-buried materials, like tarp and debris

• Irrigation lines and hoses, easy to cut if you rush

• Electrical in the area, which raises the stakes fast

When the ground is full of surprises, speed is the enemy. Slow cutting beats broken equipment.

That's why a string trimmer was the safer call. A mower would have been faster, but it also would have been a gamble.

The dream tool for fast overgrowth is something like a Ventrac with a flail mower that can chew through chaos. In this case, it wasn't the right move. Too many lines, too many hidden hazards, and too much risk of tearing something up that the ag program depends on.

So the work became a careful grind. The method was simple, but it takes patience. Start at the edge, cut in controlled passes, and keep checking the ground as new layers of grass fall away. It's the yard-work version of peeling an onion. Each layer you remove reveals something else you need to avoid.

The video captures the physical side of it too. The repeated "Heat" chant isn't a joke when you're working wide open with a trimmer and the sun is sitting on your back. Even on a cooler day, overgrowth work wears you down because your arms and shoulders never really get a break.

A few key techniques kept the cleanup moving without breaking anything:

1. Start with the "unknown" zones: Areas most likely to hide stumps got trimmed first, not mowed.

2. Work around fences and tight corners: Some enclosures were small, so it took careful footwork (including standing on tiptoes to gauge heights and clearances).

3. Trim, step back, and reassess: After each section dropped, the ground got checked for lines, hoses, and debris before continuing.

Once the FS 94 warmed up, it ran strong at full throttle and pushed through the heavy stuff better than expected. The job still took time, but the progress added up.

By the end of the day, school was letting out, and that set the limit. The area wasn't fully finished, but a big chunk got knocked down, which is often the hardest part. Once the worst growth is cut back, the next cleanup gets easier, and regular maintenance becomes possible again.

The takeaway wasn't "look how perfect it is." It was more honest than that: this kind of job is an undertaking, and doing it right means moving slowly so you don't cut irrigation, slice hoses, or hit something you can't see.

Even with the fatigue, the mood stayed positive. Helping a school program feels different than a normal service call. You're not just cleaning up grass. You're giving students a better space to learn how to farm, garden, and care for livestock. Those are real skills, and a lot of high schools don't offer them anymore.

There was also a hopeful note about what could come next. Once it's cleaned up, the area becomes visible again, and someone can even think about simple touches, like planting flowers where students and visitors can see them from the trail.

School ag departments can be some of the most practical programs on campus, but the property side of them can get overlooked. Animals still need daily care, classes still need teaching, and the grounds still grow every week. Without a big budget for groundskeeping, the math doesn't work out.

That's why volunteering can go so far. One afternoon with the right tool can reset an area that's been ignored for months. After that, teachers and students can keep it in check instead of feeling buried by it.

Helping doesn't have to look fancy either. Sometimes it's just trimming, hauling debris, and doing the slow work that makes a place feel usable again. If you've ever wanted to give back in a way you can actually see, this is it.

If you want more content from the channel, these were some of the related videos and links shared alongside this cleanup:

This cleanup at Ocoee High School didn't end with a perfect "after" shot, and that's the point. Real overgrowth work comes with hidden stumps, buried lines, and a pace that forces you to stay careful. Even so, the STIHL FS 94 and the right trimmer line helped carve back a problem area and give the ag department a solid head start. If there's a school program in your area that's fallen behind on outdoor maintenance, lending a hand can be one of the most practical ways to support it.

Links to Main Street Mower

• Shop online: Main Street Mower
• YouTube: Main Street Mower on YouTube
• Facebook: Main Street Mower on Facebook
• Instagram: Main Street Mower on Instagram
• TikTok: Main Street Mower on TikTok