My students need the seed starter kits to germinate their native wildflowers, the cart to haul soil and mulch, and a compost bin to recycle dead organic material into rich soil.
Last year our students were able to establish a vegetable garden that conserved water through the use of self-designed, low cost, free-standing rain barrels. The challenge of designing a low-cost rain barrel illustrates the creativity and persistence of our students. The challenge was hard!
The students in our Green Champions Club are a dedicated group that chooses to spend their time after school to help make our school a better, more sustainable place of learning.
They come from diverse backgrounds and are eager to help educate the rest of the school about what it means to live sustainably in order to protect our planet.
My Project
Our Green Champions school club is in the process of creating a demo Florida native wildflower garden to illustrate how a beautiful garden does not have to consume water from the city system. By planting natives, students will learn how native plants have adapted to the rainfall conditions that exist in Northeast Florida, thus helping to conserve water for drinking.
Our wildflower garden will support the ecological concepts taught in our 6th, 7th, and 8th grade science classes.
In 6th grade, students learn about the water cycle and how only 1% of all water on Earth is available for drinking. In 7th grade, students learn about the ecological relationships that exist between plants and animals and how they adapt to their environments. By 8th grade, students are learning about photosynthesis, one of the reasons why plants need water, and geochemical cycles, such as those that include the decomposition of organic materials.
We have been fortunate to have a source of native wildflower seeds that we will begin growing in the seed starter kits. Once planted in the garden, moisture will be conserved with the use of pine mulch which we will use our new cart to haul. The cart will also haul all the weeds and other dead organic matter from our new garden to our new compost bin, eventually turning into new soil.
By planting a native garden, students at Twin Lakes Academy Middle will have 'in-the-field' experiences in what we hope will grow into an outdoor classroom and a more enriching learning experience!
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