Rushwood students revisit pollinator garden

by Dan Holland

This May, third- and fourth-graders from Rushwood Elementary’s student leadership group revisited a small rainwater garden in Sagamore Hills Park, in which they planted milkweed seeds last September with the intent of creating habitat for migrating monarch butterflies.

Sandy Barbic, educational specialist at Summit Soil and Water Conservation District, gave a presentation on the ecological impact of the students’ efforts and distributed native strawberry plants to each student.

“I didn’t want the students to be disappointed since the milkweed didn’t grow, so we went looking for native plants,” added Barbic. “They can plant those [strawberries] and watch them grow to give them a taste of what it’s like so they won’t be disappointed about the milkweed.”

Although the milkweed yield was not quite what students and parents had hoped for, the program still teaches a valuable lesson about the importance of pollinators in the ecosystem, said Barbic.

“Milkweed is the most important food for the monarch butterfly,” she explained. “The monarch and other pollinators, including a lot of wildlife, are heading toward extinction. So we’re trying to help the monarchs, who depend on the milkweed. When they fly up here from Mexico, they lay their eggs on milkweed and then the caterpillars hatch out, eat the milkweed and then turn into the butterfly.”

Student aide Renee Piper worked with the children in planting their seeds last September. “I hope it’s a program we can keep on doing; I’m happy to be part of it,” she said.

For information on native plants and establishing a rainwater garden, visit the Storm Water Management 101 tab at mysagamorehills.com. ∞

Photo: Students, parents, school staff and township Trustee John Zaccardelli (r) pose around the rainwater garden. Photos by Dan Holland.