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Native school gardens

  • 1.  Native school gardens

    Posted 05-16-2023 01:58:00 PM

    Hi all,


    I'm looking for information about how to maintain a native school garden. We're a small group of parent volunteers and teachers working in a middle school. We're changing the garden from a vegetable garden to a habitat for pollinators. Are there any examples or websites to use as a reference?

    Thank you for your time,

    Rossana



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    Rossana Martinez
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  • 2.  RE: Native school gardens

    Posted 05-17-2023 11:17:00 AM
    Hi Rossana,

    What state are you in? 

    One of the best resources for you will be your state's Native Plant Society (full disclosure: I am the secretary for our chapter of the GA Native Plant Society).  Just Google and check Facebook too.  The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is a great place to look up plants to see if they ARE native to your area. https://www.wildflower.org/plants-main

    Chances are great that the Native Plant Society will not only have lists of plants native to your area, but also lists of nurseries they have vetted. You WILL NOT be able to get pollinator safe, and accurate plants at most commercial nurseries and big box stores -- they will have cultivars  that may or may not be native to your area and that have been sprayed with neonics.  Cultivars are often sterile, so they do not produce nectar, pollen, or seeds.  
     
    In Georgia and Florida, our Chapters have massive plant sales, plant swaps, and seed swaps. They may do that in your area too. 

    The Pollinator Partnership is creating EcoRegion guides to help select the right plants. 

    Many places have grants to "go native," like this one: https://www.possibilityplace.com/resources/native-plant-grants
    Some cities even have funding for it.

    If you're in the Southeast, I can send you seeds! 
    --
    Michelle Zupan
    Curator 
    Hickory Hill & the Tom Watson Birthplace
    502 Hickory Hill Drive
    Thomson, GA  30824
    706-595-7777
    FAX: 706-595-7177

    Visit us at www.hickory-hill.org or on Facebook.
    Follow us on Twitter: HHEducation

    Historic homes of the Watson-Brown Foundation, Inc








  • 3.  RE: Native school gardens

    Posted 05-18-2023 07:50:00 PM

    Rossana,  Get in touch with your local Master Gardeners organization. They are very knowledgeable. I have joined a local perennial plant group that has monthly meetings with short lectures and gives grants to schools.  I get my native plants at the farmer's market. There is a vendor that only sells natives. She educates me about them and gives me a school discount. I also scope out the local newspaper for human interest stories on volunteers that maintain local gardens that might be a good contact to share their knowledge with me.



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    Evelyn Margolin
    Sacramento, CA
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  • 4.  RE: Native school gardens

    Posted 05-17-2023 11:25:00 AM

    Hi Rosanna, contact your local Native a plant Society



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    Peggy Kenney
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  • 5.  RE: Native school gardens

    Posted 05-18-2023 11:22:00 AM

    To add to Michelle's excellent resources I would add:


    https://homegrownnationalpark.org/faq-2/what-insects-and-plants-by-doug-tallamy



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    Peggy Kenney
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  • 6.  RE: Native school gardens

    Posted 05-17-2023 12:07:00 PM
    One of the best resources for native gardens is your state's county extension office and your version of the Department of Natural Resources.  I'm in Minnesota and our County Extension offices are sponsored by the University of Minnesota.  All states have some version.

    We are fortunate to have a prairie restoration garden literally right next to my classroom.  
     is about the size of a city lot.  One thing to keep in mind when planning is that some types of native gardens need to be burned every few years to help maintain diversity and soil health.

    We also received a lot of help from our local master gardeners and naturalists.  Both are programs sponsored by the University of MN.  Remember, it is okay to start small.  The first year might just be removing invasives.





  • 7.  RE: Native school gardens

    Posted 05-17-2023 12:14:00 PM





  • 8.  RE: Native school gardens

    Posted 05-18-2023 12:29:00 PM

    I also agree that your state's native plant society should have more specific resources.  It also depends on if you are looking for shrubs, perennials, or annuals that are native to your state.  I live in California and have a lot of resources that are specific to California.  

    Everyone listed great resources for finding pollinator plants that are regionally specific. I also wanted to mention the xerces society. The have a lot of great articles, research, and plant lists that can be filtered by state and regions of the United States and Canada. 
    https://xerces.org/
    Xerces Society Pollinator Friendly Plant Lists

    Lisa



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    Lisa Masukawa
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  • 9.  RE: Native school gardens

    Posted 05-20-2023 12:55:00 PM

    Thank you so much to all for your helpful answers and links. 

    We are working in a middle school in Essex County, NJ. It's about 30 minutes from NYC. We are in contact with the Native Plant Society, Essex County chapter. The school is already on the map of the Homegrown National Park. The school is also a River friendly school thanks to the science teachers.

    The biggest challenge, as with every other type of garden, is maintenance and continuation. I just finished an Environmental Steward program at Rutgers University and I'm in the process of creating a plan for the school to have a garden volunteer group or club. 

    Although we received a small grant and a few donations for the materials and plants, this is a new approach to the garden. The old vegetable garden was neglected. It was too much work for only one teacher or person in charge. We thought it would be good to show examples of other schools doing similar work to the principal and teachers interested. They already took their first step of saying yes to a pollinator habitat and environmental initiative which is great. 

    I'm happy to share the plan we established in case that it can be useful for other schools. 

    Thanks again for your time. I really appreciate it.

    Rossana






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    Rossana Martinez
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  • 10.  RE: Native school gardens

    Posted 05-20-2023 01:43:00 PM

    I would love to see your plan when you are ready. I agree, sustainablility with running the program and funding is an ongoing challenge. I am a one person band. Eventually plan to create an endowment to fund a person.



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    Evelyn Margolin
    Sacramento, CA
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  • 11.  RE: Native school gardens

    Posted 05-21-2023 11:06:00 PM

    Hi Rossana! You're welcome to check out the Granby School Garden facebook page and search/scroll through the posts to see how they are maintaining their Ohio native plant meadows and native butterfly habitat through the work of Master Gardeners, parent volunteers, and LDS missionaries. www.facebook.com/granbyschoolgarden

    You'll also find some info on how they are following best practices as outlined by bee ecologist Heather Holm and others to provide nesting habitat for solitary bees in the pithy stems of the native plants. 
    More info on Heather Holm's best practices for solitary bees: https://conservingcarolina.org/habitat-at-home-seed-heads-and-bee-habitats/

    Hope that helps! Happy to share more info if needed.



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    Amber Keller
    Massachusetts Master Gardener
    Life Lab-Certified School Garden Educator
    Natick, MA
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