Native Meadow Project and Grant Award!

The Green Team has undertaken a sweet and non-traditional project this spring in the back area of the schoolyard near the evergreen trees.  We were inspired by the children's book On Meadowview Street by Henry Cole,

roped off a 20' by 20' area,

 

hung a no-mowing-please sign, 

and turned this space into a meadow.

The purpose is to increase our community's interaction with nature, educate ourselves about plants that are native to our state, and create the beginnings of an outdoor classroom.

We planted two pear trees on April 22, purchased from Nature and Nurture in Ann Arbor.  This also served as part of our culminating event for our Paper Renewal Project.

Here are the branches being trained to grow out instead of up, for a healthier tree that is easier to reach for harvesting those juicy pears.  This method was learned in a Fruit Tree workshop offered by Growing Hope.

We also planted 32 native perennials, purchased from Native Plant Nursery in Ann Arbor.

Here is a list of what we planted, with the Latin name, then the common name:

Aster laevis, (Smooth Aster)

Aster novae-angliae, (New-England Aster)

Monarda fistulosa, (Wild bergamot, Beebalm)

Penstemon digitalis, (Foxglove beard-tongue)

Ratibida pinnata, (Yellow coneflower)

Rudbeckia hirta, (Black-eyed susan)

Schizachyrium scoparius, (Little bluestem grass)

Silphium terebinthinaceum, (Prairie dock)

Solidago rigida, (Stiff goldenrod)

Solidago speciosa, (Showy goldenrod)

Sorghastrum nutans, (Indian grass)

Just a few feet away are the birdhouses, built and installed by the Boy Scouts a while back.

The Green Team is so pleased that this Native Meadow Project is funded by the grant we received from the Master Gardener Division of the MSU Extension Office.  Here we are holding the award check, displaying our green thumbs!

We look forward to a closer interaction with nature through this Native Meadow Project.

Career Awareness Bonus (jobs related to this post): children's book author, bookseller, nursery owner, landscape designer, park ranger, tree farmer, botanist.