A goal of our Roots & Shoots chapter since our creation was to establish a Community Learning Garden at a local elementary school to get younger students outside and enjoying nature. We are finally making that dream a reality at St. Peter Catholic School in Tampa, Florida. We hope to help them create a learning garden that all students take part to build and maintain and that teachers can use to supplement classroom activities.
We will be establishing a learning garden by renovating a plot of land. We will plant trees to create some shadier areas, and plant only native plants. Our garden will be split into a butterfly garden, edible plants garden, and native plants garden with benches and walking paths between each plot. We will also retrofit a rainwater collection basin to provide water for the plants. Students will help out in based on their grade level, with younger students helping to paint and lay bricks to outline each plot and older students helping with more heavy lifting-esque activities.
