My students need a portable greenhouse to retain heat as their seeds germinate. The watering trays will hold the pots and provide continuous moisture to the seeds.
We are LEADERS! My school is a Leadership school and my class is full of Leaders! Each school day is started with a morning meeting that sets the tone for the day. We have school, classroom, and individual goals that we strive to achieve daily. The class now has a community service project idea!
My Pre-K-fifth elementary school is located on one of the historic Sea Islands of South Carolina.
We have approximately five hundred students and a large military population. Forty percent of our students are on free/reduced lunch and there are many who live in homes near the salt marsh. I want to help my students who are new to the area as well as the natives develop a sense of leadership by providing an opportunity to help save their "Salt Marsh"! Everyone agrees that this is the perfect community service project.
My Project
We live on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and love our Salt Marsh! Hopefully, you have spent time in a marsh or wetland area and can appreciate all of the benefits that it provides. Some of these benefits include: being buffers for mainland, erosion control, sediment control, resting place for migrating birds, water supply, habitat for fish and other wildlife and don't forget about the tasty seafood! The American or Eastern Oyster is also found along the our coast. They form reefs and are an important feature of this area.
There are many threats to our salt marsh. Many of these threats include pollution and filling them in for homes and towns. My class will be trying to lessen these threats by collecting, germinating and planting salt marsh plants such as Spartina alternifora. This plant is able to break down some pollutants, pesticides and heavy metals that are harmful. The impact of one Day of Restoration will benefit this area for years.
Funding our project will provide us with the tools we need to harvest seeds from the salt marsh plants in the Fall, store the seeds to stimulate growth for 6-8 weeks, and germinate the seeds in the new planthouse.
During this time, we are learning about our coast and all of the wonderful things that it has to offer. The students will not only learn through books and lecture, we will also take a field trip on Restoration Day and transplant our seedlings! This is a perfect community service project.
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