In Harrison Township Education Association (Gloucester County), a team of Kindergarten teachers from Harrison Township Elementary School was awarded a $613 grant for The Reimagination Garden. The team of educators includes Colleen Illi, Lisa DeEugenio, Tracy DeAngelo, Ashley Mackowiak, Emily Phillips and Stephanie Royce.
The school’s butterfly garden is 15 years old and getting weaker in use, appreciation, and educational value. The Monarch Butterfly life cycle is part of the kindergarten curriculum. A garden catering to butterflies increases students understanding and appreciation.
The “upcycled” garden includes used and donated objects such as colanders, rain boots, toys, dresser drawers, tires, etc. Grant funds are used to purchase items that encourage self-sustainment like a compost bin and greenhouse.
Scraps from the school cafeteria are added to the compost bin. Community volunteers work with kindergarten students to plan, create, and maintain assigned sections of the garden. Students also learn to germinate seeds and put nectar in feeders.
Students make cross-curricular connections from drawing and writing in a journal, counting and sorting plants, observing the life cycles of plants and butterflies, making connections to residents in the community, and applying the concepts of reduce-reuse-recycle to real-life circumstances.
Team members solicit donations of soil and other consumables to maintain the garden after the grant year. Most of the project is self-sustaining, so the garden should thrive for years to come.
A Butterfly Parade and ceremony serves as a culminating activity in May 2018.
For more information, contact:
Colleen Illi
856-478-2016 (school)