Vision

The STEP (Students Toward Environment Protection) eco club students would like to plant a
naturalized pollinator garden in our quad. The focus will be on native species and it will connect with
the 3 sisters gardens for indigenous knowledge. The STEP students have identified that our school
quad has fantastic potential but is an underutilized space. Not only will this plan promote more foot
traffic to the area (promoting enjoyment of the outdoors, interacting with the environment, mental
health), but it will be a great learning opportunity for students and classes to develop indigenous
knowledge. STEP club will begin by researching the native species of plants and 3 sisters gardens.
We will purchase the supplies needed and the STEP club will guide other students to do the planting.
Volunteers will receive hours for maintaining the space. Students from Woburn Jr will support by
providing some of their compost to the garden. STEP club is also hosting a parent night to tour our
garden spaces and recruit their expertise.

Action

Woburn Collegiate has an incredible but underutilized quad space. Our S.T.E.P. (Students Toward Environment Protection) eco club students wanted to revitalize the space by planting a naturalized pollinator garden in our quad. The focus is on native species and it connects with indigenous knowledge. Not only did this plan promote more foot traffic to the area (promoting enjoyment of the outdoors, interacting with the environment, mental health), but it was a great learning opportunity for students and classes to develop indigenous knowledge.

STEP club began by researching the native species of plants. Originally they considered planting a 3 sisters garden, however that would require additional maintenance and soil testing so the project may not have as lasting of an impact as perennials. Working with the nursery and some staff with garden knowledge, they planned which species to purchase for the native pollinator garden, and how many.

The club then ran a “Woburn Extreme Makeover” on April 25. This was a school gardens kick off with outdoor education activities (tree mapping on the property, exploring our gardens), hands on ‘getting in the dirt’ activities (mulching, prepping the garden beds, building and painting birdhouses), and school-yard clean up. This activity was geared towards getting students excited about our garden spaces by giving them an opportunity to explore the diverse plant species on our school yards and to learn some foundational landscaping skills.

After the Extreme Makeover, Woburn CI started up the weekly after school Landscaping Club for the 2024 season. This club comprised of any student in the school who wanted to learn gardening skills and work outside in the quad while gaining volunteer hours. The landscaping club meets weekly. For the native pollinator garden there was a pre-existing (overgrown) raised garden bed that we wanted to revitalize. First the landscaping club dug up the soil to deweed it and re-till it. Then they mixed it the peat moss and manure. Finally they mapped out and then planted the plants we purchased from the grant. Over the next weeks they will maintain it by watering the garden. Our final steps will be to produce signs and education materials to inform people what plants are in the garden and why.

The new native pollinator garden is also a community effort. Leah Yuyitung from our parent group and Woburn Local Planning Table supported with knowledge and suggestions. We purchased new chords for Grow lights for Woburn Jr, who has been growing seedlings using the grow lights.

To introduce students to the new quad garden, during Spirit week and carnival (May 27-31) STEP is hosting a scavenger hunt for prizes. In groups of 3 students complete tasks such as identifying 3 of the plants from the pollinator garden in order to enter their names in a draw for a prize (a stuffed plant). This is coupled with fun tasks such as selling color-changing flower pens, metal straws, and a flower-themed photo booth.

STEP club is also in the middle of planning a “parent night” with a garden tour on June 4. The purpose is to invite the community into our garden spaces, and to recruit support for maintenance over the summer. Community organizations were also invited to have a table. The goal is to recruit volunteers from our local community to maintain our new garden.

Reflection & Celebration

We celebrate the work the students have done to research and commit to this project. This represents an expansion of our garden spaces, in addition to our pre-existing community edible garden. It is nice that the students are able to visibly see the completion of their work.

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