Vision

Context:
This project is an amazing collaboration between energetic teachers, keen students, supportive parents, and a local environmental group. The Beaver Valley Community School is planting native plants in butterfly gardens with the generous support of Learning for a Sustainable Future.

Purpose:
Teachers at the school wanted to transform existing but abandoned vegetable and flower raised beds to butterfly friendly gardens. A local environmental group called “Pollinate the Blue Mountains” was approached to help give advice and support the project. A plan that stretches the entire school year and summer was developed including students tending the planting boxes, researching about the butterflies in this area, and planting native pollinator plants in the spring. A large component is to spread ideas for more responsible and sustainable gardening to other classes in the school and family gardens in the community. The gardens will be used by various teachers in the school to educate their students on the importance of pollinators and in particular spread knowledge about five native butterflies and their host plants. Students will be contributing to “Pollinating the Blue Mountains”.

Action

Partners in the school:
Two grade 2 classes and two grade 3 classes undertook researching butterflies and preparing poster displays in the library. The classes became experts on their specific species and shared information with each other. They are responsible for the planning and planting of 2 flower boxes for each of the five species – Monarch, Red Admiral, Black Swallowtail, Silvery Checkerspot and Painted Lady. In order to share information further with families and the community, SWAY documents were created for each butterfly species by a grade 4/5 class that are linked to QR codes that will be displayed outside on the planted raised beds and available electronically.

The principal and caretaker have been kept informed and have been very supportive throughout the entire project. A presentation was made to the Parent Advisory Council and they allocated funds to help with the purchase of native plants for the flower boxes.

Community connections:
Members of “Pollinate the Blue Mountains” have helped throughout the process with information, plant suggestions and gardening help with the students. The local library has provided books and research materials for the grade 2 and 3 classes to use and will display the research results on a bulletin board for visitors to see. A local landscaping company donated some soil and mulch in the fall when the students weeded and prepared the raised beds for overwintering. Parents were provided with the opportunity to purchase native shrub root plants that attract birds and pollinators to their backyards – High Bush Cranberry and Nannyberry. About 400 tiny shrubs provided by the local Grey-Sauble Conservation Authority went home to families to help support the naturalization of gardens.

Activities to date:
– Two grade 2 classes and two grade 3 classes weeded and mulched 11 raised beds in the fall
– An information poster was set up about the BVCS BUTTERFLY GARDEN PROJECT and a shrub seedling purchase opportunity for parents at the December fundraising fair
– Support for the project was secured from LSF and School Advisory Council through the winter
– Curriculum-embedded research by students on the 5 butterfly species and posters was completed in April
– Displays posted in the school library and sharing of info on butterflies to classes throughout the school
– A Gr. 4/5 class made SWAY documents with QR codes in April/May that will be displayed at each of the garden boxes for community members and BVCS staff and students to access information about each butterfly and the host plants.
– Planning and ordering of native pollinator plants from local suppliers in April
– Native pollinator and wildlife shrubs distributed to families in early May
– Student planting in late May/early June – over 225 native plants into 11 raised bed boxes and 2 flower beds!
– Signs with QR code made in June for each native flower bed on the type of butterfly it is aiming to attract for community members and students to access information

Continuing actions:
– Watering through the summer with the help of families and community members
– Monitoring and weeding in the fall
– Further planting and maintenance of the gardens in the following years as needed
– Gardens will continue to be used to educate students at BVCS and families in the community

Reflection & Celebration

The LSF funding certainly allowed us to get our project started and inspired us to make it bigger than we anticipated!

The grade two and three students have become quite interested in and committed to educating others on the importance of protecting pollinators. They have gained a new appreciation for and knowledge of plants and pollinators beyond butterflies, including bees, ants, beetles etc. Students are keen to share their knowledge with parents and other classes and are extremely proud and protective of their gardens. They continue to gain a deeper connection to nature, the impact our actions and behaviours can have on the environment and a commitment to protecting the natural environment in many different ways beyond the butterfly project. This project will be ongoing throughout the years and will continue to educate students and families in our school and the wider community.

We look forward to adding to the gardens each year and continuing to make a conscious effort to have a positive impact on the environment. We believe that this project will inspire others in the community to create native pollinator gardens in their yards and will inspire other initiatives within the school community related to climate change.

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