Vision

We have multiple outdoor courtyard spaces around the school, and over the past few years have started to develop outdoor classrooms and learning spaces. This year, the Eco Team decided to focus on creating pollinator gardens. There were multiple reasons for creating these gardens. Cleaning up the gardens and planting pollinators and local plants makes the space more enjoyable. It teaches students about the life cycles of plants and the importance of pollinators. We are also linking taking care of the gardens to the larger idea of taking care of the earth and why it’s important to look after the land, keep it healthy and garbage-free, and consider what we are planting and the reasons behind our choices.

Action

To date, students have worked hard to select the appropriate spaces based on sunlight and proximity to water and rainfall. They have weeded and cleared the areas using the tools that were purchased through the grant and are now planting a few small plants. They are also planning the placement of the pollinator plants. Our pollinator plants are scheduled to be delivered at the beginning of June, and students will then be planting them in our gardens.

To extend the learning, we have also been talking about pollinators and pollinator plants. We are learning about the importance of bees in the natural environment. Once the gardens are complete, we look forward to enjoying them in many ways. We will continue to look after the plants and gardens. We will investigate to see whether they are being used by pollinators. We will discuss the life cycle and growth stages of plants. We also plan to use the areas for sit spots and nature journalling by students.

Reflection & Celebration

We have enjoyed choosing and preparing the gardens for our plants and are beginning to plant a few small local plants. Our pollinator plants are scheduled to be shipped to our school the first week of June, and the students are looking forward to planting them then.

We have learned a lot about the life cycle of plants, the importance of pollinators and how to look after garden spaces. It has been a wonderful experience to see the students garden with intentionality and with a deeper understanding of the benefits of the specific plants we will be planting.

We look forward to celebrating the completion of the gardens by having difference classes and teachers visit the spaces.

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