Today’s post is short and sweet, as I’m back to our elementary school today to help finish building the fence around our new wildflower area.
Back in October our Kindergarteners held a special seed stomp to spread wildflower seeds, and we have high hopes that we’ll have new flowers this spring.
And yesterday, a team of USFW Partners for Fish & Wildlife biologists and fire crew members volunteered their entire workday to come out and build a fence around the meadow-to-be. They had to jackhammer through rock to get the holes dug for the posts, but they never stopped to rest. And while they were at it, they helped us remove several invasive plants that we discovered in our woodlands, including one of the biggest Ligustrums I’ve ever seen — it’s amazing how it managed to “hide” among the natives. But I looked up and saw it, and the USFW team attacked it with ease. It was probably the source of most of the other Ligustrums scattered throughout the woodlands.
Here’s a look at the unfinished fence, which soon will have more rails to complete the scenic, rustic look we wanted. Once the wildflowers start to grow, the natural fence will add to the beauty — and the exfoliating bark will be a delight to nesting birds.
Our volunteers’ dedication to nature and to kids just warms my heart — the Kindergarten classes all came out to see what was happening with “their” meadow and give big thank yous to our hard-working crew.
As the wildflowers grow over the next few years, our students will get to see the transformation of their meadow, and experience nature in new ways. The birds, butterflies, bees, and other critters will all be thrilled to have a new pocket habitat to visit and live in.
The kids’ thank-you letters to the crew are priceless — I just had to share a few!
Kudos to all those who have helped build beautiful wildlife gardens for kids to explore and experience. The love of nature starts as a child!
Time to finish the fence!
Meredith O’Reilly gardens for wildlife in Austin, Texas, and writes about her garden adventures at Great Stems.
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Those letters are adorable! And great “fents”! That’s going to make a wonderful border for your wildflower meadow….
Thanks, Ellen. I wish I could have shown more of the students’ letters and artwork. They were precious!
Meredith, What a delightful post~It warms my heart, too, to know that there are so many dedicated volunteers helping children learn to appreciate nature. Their thank you letter are precious. gail
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Thank you, Gail. We are so grateful to this amazing team from USFW — and this was tough work, let me tell you!
What a great post. We happened to be in Texas when our grandsons’ classes were planting butterfly beds around their school. This afternoon I am visiting Ginny Sullivan about her website http://www.learningbytheyard.com and the way she designs for children in the outdoors.
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I enjoyed visiting the link, so thank you for sharing. I was a little envious of the deeper soil that Ginny seems to get to work with in her area of the country. Two inches down, and we were already hitting rock!
What an uplifting post Meredith! I love the fence!! These are important memories the children will have for the rest of their lives. I am sure the workers will treasure the sweet thank you notes!
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If I can, I’ll upload a photo of the completed fence as soon as it’s officially finished. We still have some more rails to attach. Thanks, Carol!
Outstanding Meredith!
My motto is “teach them young” and you’re doing a fabulous job of that. The fence is delightful and really will add to the beauty of that “meadow in the making”. Great job, they are lucky to have you!
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Connecting kids with nature is what it’s all about — and our environment’s future depends on it, too!
Another wonderful addition to our elementary school! Congratulations!
Thank you, Jan — come visit in the spring to see what wildflowers are growing!