Photo: J. Jenkins Elementary Garden, Amanda Ross
Lisa Mackem
Last year, 11 applicants received ASNV Conservation Grant funds. They are already reaping benefits. In August, parent and student volunteers prepared the Ambleside School (located in McLean) pollinator garden site for planting. James Chen, grant applicant and Ambleside’s Board of Trustee member, said that in one weekend, parent and student volunteers filled ten yard-debris bags with dandelions, clover, and crabgrass. The following weekend, they removed sod and transplanted ornamental grasses. Janet Davis, owner of Hill House Farm and Nursery, selected native plants for their pollinator garden. During the week of September 11, Ambleside students, teachers, and parent volunteers began planting, and added stepping-stones to the center of the garden, providing the students improved access to the plants and pollinators.
At John Jenkins Elementary School in Woodbridge, grant applicant and PTO Board Member, Amanda Ross headed last year’s garden project, which resulted in a community garden. Principal Xanthe McFadden has begun planning for an outdoor classroom there.
J. Jenkins Elementary School Garden, Amanda Ross
Other grant-funded plans are underway. At Barcroft Elementary in Arlington, PTA president and grant applicant, Carrie Lombardi started the school’s Nature Club. Carrie is collaborating with an employee at the Alexandria plant nursery, Nature by Design, to create a sensory garden, minus taste. Wildflowers with seeds that rattle when they bloom will provide sound. Carrie will order her wildflower seeds in March and has already ordered a shed, magnifying glasses, and other supplies.
Peter Jones, ESL teacher and grant applicant at William Ramsay Elementary in Alexandria, was inspired by Doug Tallamy’s books, “Bringing Nature Home” and “Nature’s Best Hope.” He especially admired Tallamy’s pictures of caterpillars. “Caterpillars are so cute. I never realized caterpillars could be cute,” he said. “Insects are plant-specific, and birds eat caterpillars… [the grant] was an opportunity to build a pollinator garden to support insects which in turn support birds,” said Peter. Peter drew in so much wildlife from planting one packet of wildflower seeds at Ramsay that he wanted to expand his work. Ramsay’s principal allowed him to develop approximately 350 square feet of land, so Peter consulted botanist and native plant authority Matt Bright, owner of Springfield’s Earth Sangha Wild Plant Nursery. Bright provided specific plant recommendations. In November, local master gardeners and students volunteered with planting.
Students love the gardens! At Ambleside, students in 5th – 8th grade nature study classes spent 3 days in September planting 132 native plants. Pollinators immediately began visiting. At John Jenkins, students use the community garden for hands-on learning. Barcroft Elementary recently added a teacher who focuses on the outdoors, and that teacher started an environmental club. “The students are excited about cleaning out the beds and planting,” said Carrie. “We really wanted to get the kids outside more. [Barcroft] is a Title 1 school and a lot of kids live in apartment buildings. Some kids don’t even know what an acorn is. By revamping the garden space, maybe teachers will go out and read on nice days and do science projects there if they are studying plants.” Carrie planted an herb garden at Barcroft before applying for the ASNV grant, and sees students run over to smell and touch the herbs during recess. She hopes that the addition of flowers and pollinators will make the garden more inviting and increase the students’ awareness of and desire to learn from nature. Peter has similar goals for Ramsay. “We have a lot of little kids who haven’t really seen a lot of the creatures up close…it’s when they’ve seen things outside that they’re super excited. Kids get more of an appreciation for the importance of nature. It’s what nourishes us and keeps us alive.”