Hands in the dirt!

County Extension Coordinator, Roger Vines teamed up with volunteer, Doug McGinty, who is a retired field biology professor, to get this project rolling. Along with help from school superintendent Todd Wingard and fifth grade teacher, Debbie Phillips, a site was selected and plans drafted for the outdoor classroom site. Before any work began, however, the students visited the site and did an initial wildlife and plants inventory. The site was extremely bare with not much more than dirt, rocks and a few weeds. The initial inventory included only a few ants, some grass, a cricket and a few other small broadleaf plants. The idea was to show the youth how the changes we make in the environment will greatly affect what we find.

This project takes team effort!

The kids and volunteers went to work. First several loads of topsoil were delivered and spread, then a hole was dug and a small pond installed. Next, a gravel trail was built and a variety of hardy wildflowers and other plants were planted. The finishing touch was a dry creek bed and a bog garden. Then the site was bordered with a wooden picket fence. As the year went by, the students began to see birds coming to get water, aquatic insects in the pond, butterflies on the flowers, worms in the bog garden, hummingbirds and lots of different plants. The cherry on the pie was when a praying mantis was found among the plants. The insect was adopted by the class and provided many hours of excitement as the students watched it catch and eat its’ prey. Through this project, the students are learning about plant succession and can see first- hand how our actions affect the diversity of life around us.

Learning to build a bog garden.