Update to the PTO, September 2013

The Green Team is excited to start another year with environmentally friendly projects in mind.

Here's a quick report of what's been going on while school has been out.

The Meadow.  There are pears!  And flowers!  And wildlife!  And a plaque!

The Brownie vegetable garden.  They had a bumper crop of tomatoes and one gigantic sunflower!

The bottle cap mural.  It's above the water fountain in the Primary Hall.

We've got the official flag hanging in the gym!

Simple steps for a greener year:

• Teachers, please, please, please consider double sided copies and email reminders.
• Parents, please consider trash-free lunches.  It's not that hard, really.  And it's so much healthier.  Here's how.  Here are some more ideas.
• Parents, please consider turning off your car in the parking lot.  We'll all breathe a little easier and it will save you money.

I spy about a million bottle caps.

Remember last year when the South Arbor community collected about a million bottle caps and lids?

Well, these were washed and sorted by color and sat in Mrs. Morad's closet until this summer.  A few Green Team members got out their paint brushes,

hot glue guns,

and power drills to great this little beauty.

Thanks to Annie for finding this fun design!

You can spy it above the drinking fountain in the Primary Hall.  This project helped to keep lots and lots of bottle caps out of landfills and raise awareness about the importance of repurposing.

What other items that would normally go into the trash could be repurposed?

The Brownies create their own vegetable garden!

Last spring the Brownie troop planned, presented, and planted their own vegetable garden.  They were very thorough about their planning, first getting permission to use the space between the Primary and Secondary Halls.  They researched which plants they would like to grow, how much soil they would need, and what kind of container to build.

Here are a couple of pictures from their presentation last spring.

Here they are getting their hands dirty!  Way to go, girls!

Gardening sure does require patience.  

They cared for their garden all through the summer and look what they have to show for it:  a basket full of delicious tomatoes and one mammoth sunflower!  They also harvested other produce throughout the growing season.

Great job, girls!  We can't wait to see what you'll grow next year!

How is that meadow project coming along?

The Green Team was thankful for a rainy summer to do the bulk of the watering for us.  After all that hard work we did in the spring planting 2 pear trees and lots of native perennials, we were glad to take most of the summer off and let Mother Nature handle the watering duties.

So how is it looking now?  The pear trees are thriving!  We were delighted to see three actual pears growing.  We were not expecting a harvest for at least another year, so this was a fun surprise.  We're hoping to do some serious pruning (as was recommended to us by the arborist) and have an even better harvest next year.

This plaque honoring Dr. Fadden, a former school board member will be placed there soon.

Many of the perennials are doing great as well.  Here are some aster,

some goldenrod,

and some others.

One of the purposes of the Native Meadow project was to return part of the schoolyard back to nature.  A sign that we are succeeding is the presence of wildlife.  We are pleased to report that we have sighted several living things back there: moths and butterflies, two impressive spiders, a fuzzy caterpillar, grasshoppers, earthworms, and various birds.

Feel free to take a walk back there and see this unique area for yourself.