SHENANDOAH -The Shenandoah Valley Elementary School students have a very special garden to not only enjoy nature, but from which to learn.
The "Pollinator Garden," located near the elementary school entrance, is filled with many types of perennial plants that attract insects known to be pollinators, including butterflies and bees, that has been paid for through the annual Schuylkill County Green Challenge. The elementary school won first place in the School Funding Competition of the essay contest.
Using the theme "Helping Wildlife," more than 2,000 students in grades kindergarten through eighth from 15 schools participated in the challenge, which is administered by the Schuylkill Conservation District Dr. James S. Shadle Nature Center in cooperation with Schuylkill County's VISION.
Besides the importance of learning more about being conservationists for wildlife, individual students and teams were awarded $8,000 in prize money from four corporate sponsors with operations in Highridge Business Park: Wal-Mart Distribution Center, Lowe's Regional Distribution Center, Wegmans Retail Service Center and JELD-WEN Windows and Doors.
Patrick M. "Porcupine Pat" McKinney, the Schuylkill Conservation District's environmental education coordinator, met with Elementary Principal Barbara Wilkinson to visit the garden Monday morning with Wegmans team leader Danette Cobb-McKinzie and Lowe's regional general manager D. Michael Byrne.
"The Green Challenge is an annual contest that encompasses a poster contest for grades K-4 and an essay contest for grades 5-8," McKinney said. "We're here today to recognize that it's a 'boots on the ground' project where the school here was being built and there was this bare ground that could become a teachable tool to share with kids the importance of pollinators. And this is near the entrance so children, parents and others will walk by it everyday."
Cobb-McKinzie was impressed with the garden in its size and diversity of plants. She said Green Challenge is a unique way of helping schools.
"What a great idea. Instead of just giving money to buy equipment inside the building, here is something that can evolve over a great period of time to help children learn," Cobb-McKinzie said.
According to a media release that announced the Green Challenge winners, Alan Hanley, manager of Wal-Mart Distribution Center, procured funding from Lowe's, Wegmans and Jeld-Wen, with Hanley stating that "our goal is to promote sustainability with young people in their community and also assist local schools with funds in these times of lean budgets."
"When they (Shenandoah Valley) won the Green Challenge, this was just a concept on paper. Since they won $2,000 in May, they've used the funding to develop this," McKinney said.
Wilkinson said that a portion of the funds were used to develop the garden as it is.
"I'm waiting to see what plants make it and those that don't," Wilkinson said. "Then whatever money is left, we'll add a bench here."
Wilkinson also pointed out another area with grass and a tree that could become a second garden.
Cobb-McKinzie asked Wilkinson about putting in a vegetable garden as another teaching tool.
"I don't know where and who would do it," Wilkinson said, since the growing season for the vegetables would be during months school is not in session.
Wilkinson said the garden is tied in with the third grade butterfly project, and since the fourth grade studies Pennsylvania, some of the plants were chosen because they are indigenous.
"That's why we added Pennsylvania plants," Wilkinson said.
Byrne and Cobb-McKinzie were greeted by a group of third grade students who presented them with a large bunch of homemade thank you cards, Both were impressed with the creativity of the students as they looked quickly through the many cards, which will be divided and distributed to all four corporate sponsors.