Here at NewsDepth headquarters, we love a nice garden. Nothing makes us happier than seeing some coneflowers, zinnias, and lilies. Especially when that garden makes an entire space look beautiful. Well, it seems like a group of sixth and third graders at St. Gabriel Consolidated School in Glendale knew that and wrote to us all about the school’s Garden Club which won them this week’s A+ Award.
Sixth grader Charleigh told us that it all started when she and a few of her classmates were talking about inspiring others to make their school more beautiful and they realized that there was a patch of land out front that used to be a garden, but now was in pretty bad shape. Amelie told us that they came up with a plan along with their science teacher Mr. Imwalle to plant daylilies and iris in the old garden, which hadn’t truly been cared for in about ten years. The students told us that before they could plant anything they needed permission from the school and had a lot of work to do to prep the soil for new plants.
It took the group several weeks to do all of the work that was needed. Then at the end of last school year, they were able to finally start planting and have a ribbon cutting ceremony. The community was very supportive and many families donated plants.
The work wasn’t done there. The garden needed to be continually cared for to make sure the plants were healthy. That’s when The Garden Club came up with a plan to start composting to make sure the flowers had nutrient rich soil. Third grader Harliegh told us that composting is a great way to reuse food scraps from lunch and it helps get nutrients back into the soil to help the plants. They even had the help of about 1,000 red wiggler worms to help break down the food scraps into soil. Claire explained to us that as the worms eat the scraps, they poop out all kinds of great nutrients. It sounds super gross, but that’s how it works. The other Clare told us that she’s really proud of the garden because it really makes the school look beautiful and it gives parents a nice place to sit when they're waiting for dismissal at the end of the day.
Norah, who wrote us an email about the garden, told us that she is really proud of the garden because it shows how beautiful the world can be and that it’s important to take care of nature.
Before our conversation ended, Mrs. Charles’ third grade class let us help brainstorm what plants to put in a pollinator garden that they’re planning for the spring. We vote for milkweed and other native species.
This week’s A+ Award goes to the garden club at St. Gabriel Consolidated School. You are doing a great job of making your school and community a beautiful place!
