School Projects
Weeds and wildflowers are all likely given the same treatment at your school: mow it or spray it. Help your school be a bit more discerning and help protect the planet with a few easy projects.
Pupils Get Picking
With a growing knowledge that pesticides are harmful to human health and the environment, schools have begun to identify safer ways to control weeds on school grounds. One way to combine weed control with beneficial exercise is by having the students work in teams to manually remove weeds from the school grounds.
You can rotate the teams so the labor is broken up evenly between students. Don't forget to weed after a rainy day and to have gloves available. The best thing about manually picking weeds is that over time, particularly in turf, there will be fewer and fewer weeds to pick. Using chemicals weakens the turf, which in turn makes it more susceptible to more weeds in the future. Without the chemicals, the turf is allowed to develop strong roots and plants and it becomes better able to fend off weeds. The average amount of time it takes to develop a strong organic lawn is about three years. After manually picking the weeds for this long, there will be much less to do the following years. It's certainly a time investment in the beginning, but the benefits of not using pesticides, teaching kids about weeds and nontoxic control, and getting some plain old exercise is an unbeatable combination.
There are many ways for your school to address weeds without resorting to pesticides. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a comprehensive website to help schools get started using Integrated Pest Management. It focuses on natural, biological, and physical approaches to weed management. Visit www.epa.gov/pesticides/ipm.
Plant a Native Wildflower Garden
Wildflower gardens are a great way to beautify your school grounds, and they also provide an educational resource for your students and protect the environment. Wildflower gardens with native plants are terrific because they require little care once they are established, they provide food and shelter to local wildlife, and they don't require pesticides or herbicides for protection since they are acclimated to the environment. The National Park Service is just one of many resources you can use to help you plan, develop, grow, and care for your garden. Visit www.nps.gov/piro/forteachers/startgarden.htm. Here are some ideas to keep in mind:
Start out easy, but understand that native species are hardy and easy to grow. They will quickly be able to be split and propagated to expand your garden every few years. Take advantage of perennials that go to seed and plantings that crowd the garden by having plant and seed sales.
Get as many people on board for planning and tending to the garden as you can. Many hands make for light work!
Get resourceful when you look for plants. Get permission and salvage seeds or seedlings by hand from other gardeners' beds or native habitats. Ask a local nursery to donate native plants. You could ask them to have a specified shopping day or week where a percentage of the profits are used to provide your school with plants. Then spread the word and get the parents, staff, and people in your community to do their gardening shopping during that time.
Planting a native garden is a lifelong gift to your school and all of its students. Take this opportunity to make one on your school grounds. If you already have one, develop another one in a different location, expand the existing one, or even develop another kind (like a native water garden or succulent garden).
