Reflections on the Pollinator Garden

I came into the process of developing the pollinator garden half way.  The children had already placed cardboard over the site to kill the grass and prepare it, and I had already seen their excitement about what was going to come.  The development expanded beyond the second grade class that had identified the site as we enlisted afterschool program students to add more cardboard and make suer the grass was adequately covered as spring arrived.  Then we engaged middle school students to bring bags of mulch to cover the cardboard.  The first planting was Jewelweed--which was difficult for me to see since my previous experience with Jewelweed had only been to pull it up!  Nonetheless, the students were excited about the first plants to go in.  Then the perennials arrived!  A volunteer from the community helped us create a plan for their arrangement, and the second graders went to work.  Adults dug holes in the mulch, students removed plants from their pots, and into the ground they went!  We had color in the garden throughout the summer, and as fall arrives, still have blooms to enjoy.  The pollinator garden remains a work in progress. Last week, third graders began the process of places stone that they brought from home to create a border around one side of the garden.  Yesterday, afterschool students became very excited when they found a moth next to the brick wall. I suggested they move it to the pollinator garden.  Today, we plan to harvest some seeds from the garden, and next week, we will plant more!