With students, teachers, and parents on board, my son’s elementary school is officially getting focused on wildlife habitats. We’ve got a community project planned for the third- and fourth-graders for the Legacy of Giving program, and if all goes well we’ll have a new butterfly and hummingbird garden planted in the spring, culminating in dedicating the school as a certified Schoolyard Habitat with the National Wildlife Federation on Earth Day.
I’ve really been thrilled with the enthusiasm everyone has had about the habitat project. What makes me happiest is seeing how excited the kids are. Just wait until the wildlife finds about it!
That is AWESOME! I am glad more and more schools are getting in touch with nature. Our charter school is an agricultural school. We have several veggie gardens, a pond, woods, greenhouse and access to the farm across from the high school campus. They teach farming and land stewardship along side the regular curriculum. Kudos to the school for starting this project.
Jessica
Congratulations Meredith – Can’t wait to see the photos of these gardens in the spring. 🙂
At the local service unit’s Girl Scout leaders meeting for December the co-director (Marcie) announced the project. I added that troops can earn Try-Its and Junior Badges from the Virginia Skyline council. There is also a national IP for Cadets and older called Plant Life that would probably also fit.
The Brownie ones include Landscaping (it’s really cute), Butterfly Fun, and Bugs; the Junior one that fits best is Butterflies & Blossoms.
Let me know when you want to set up some projects with our troop. I want dibs on the fun projects! (Of course, according to my daughter getting as dirty as possible is fun…)
We’ve got all sorts of fun project possibilities, so we can chat anytime! The next habitat meeting is in January, of course, and things will really get moving then. In the meantime, let me know if you’d like to get together to brainstorm.
Wonderful, Meredith! Children are sponges for learning, and teaching them about the earth, conservation, and wildlife now may instill some element of caring about our world when they are adults. That’s my mantra with what I do–healthy kids make healthier grown-ups, and setting a good example is one of the best ways to show them. You are going even so much farther with all that you do. Congrats!
Was this whole thing your idea/doing?? I saw something about it a few months back and meant to tell you about it, but it slipped my mind (typical).
I think it’s great!
Do you need any donations?
I did approach the school about the project, Diane, after I completed my Habitat Steward training, though as a parent I might have done the same anyway. The idea was immediately well received by the principal and many teachers and families. It’s definitely going to be a lot of work, but one that will be rewarding in so many ways.
We will definitely need donations as we approach our digging time (most likely in March). Anything from plants to mulch to actual money donations would be tremendous help. We’ll be working on the design (we’re starting small and simple) in January/February and hopefully have a list of plants we’ll need. Thank you so much for asking, and I’ll be posting about progress and plans as we go along!