Despite living in the Prairie State, the state of Illinois has lost much of it's natural prairie and with it the associated pollinators. We are addressing habitat loss and biodiversity loss through our project. We are transforming grassy areas on our school property to native prairie habitat in order to increase the local pollinator diversity.
Two years ago, the Green Team successfully created a native pollinator garden on the school property and has received approval to expand the garden this spring. This will add an additional 100 square feet of native habitat to our school grounds which we hope will lead to an increase in native pollinators in our area. This garden expansion will meet two major goals of the Green Team. The first is to increase native habitat on the school property to help support the native pollinators. We are specifically targeting Monarch butterflies by planting milkweeds and a variety of nectar sources, but this area will provide habitat for a great diversity of native pollinators. The second goal is to provide increased areas for outdoor learning opportunities for every student at the school both in the formal classroom setting and informally through the Green Team. The Green Team students will plant the garden and continue to maintain the garden into the future. They will learn the importance of “leaving the leaves” and proper pruning to leave dead stems to ensure our garden provides necessary habitat for overwintering and nesting. The students will participate in monitoring the development of the plants and monitoring the pollinator species drawn to the garden. The garden will also serve as an example of how native plants can be incorporated into existing neighborhood landscapes. The Green Team will share information on social media about the native garden. The school community will be able to see the benefits of increasing the number of native plants in our neighborhood for native pollinators.
Because this project built upon our first project, we were well prepared for the planting event. Everyone who attended the planting event was enthusiastic and hardworking which made everything go smoothly. Over the summer, a small group of volunteers maintained the garden, and by late summer, the plants were well established and blooming. Once school resumed, the Green Team students were excited to spend time exploring and learning about the new addition and observing the diversity of pollinators the plants were able to attract.
This project taught us the value of hard work. Despite the hot temperatures and the long day, everyone felt a sense of accomplishment when looking at the completed garden.
While we were well prepared for the event, if we could hold the event earlier in the season, it would not only make the event more enjoyable, but it would also be better for the plants.
The best part of this project is the continued enhancement to the pollinator habitat we are creating. The additional space allows for more pollinators to use the area leading to an increase in local biodiversity. This expansion also allows more students to view the garden from inside their classrooms.
After the native garden is established (after the first year), it requires minimal maintenance. Due to the close spacing of the plants, weeding is minimized and regular watering is not necessary due to the adaptations of these plants to the local environment.
