Central Elementary Garden Collaboration

Garden to School

Soil Fact Sheet

Student Lesson

on Soil & Pollinators

On March 18th and 20, 2024 Polly Cheney spoke with Central Elementary students about soil structure and the importance of pollinators.

The Soil Facts sheet was used in the lesson. Learning the difference between dirt and soil also includes a measurement of how many individual "grains" of sand, silt and clay could line up in a single centimeter. The visual guide helped the students envision the small size of silt and clay.  The jar in the upper right illustrates an experiment Polly presented to demonstrate the importance of pore space in soil.

The native Swallowtail butterfly visits a native Wood lily to get nectar. It is one of the only butterflies with a long enough proboscis to reach the nectar in that flower.  In the photo, student could easily see that the wings have picked up pollen as the Swallowtail butterfly reaches in for the nectar.  When it goes off to another Wood lily it accomplishes "wing pollination."

More to come from Central Elementary School as the 2024 growing season has barely started!  This project is approved for volunteer hours by the Michigan Master Garden Association. Watch the calendar or announcements at member meetings for opportunities to participate.

Swallowtail Butterfly & Michigan Lily

On Sept. 11, 2023 Midge Stewart and Polly Cheney, NMMGA Master Gardeners, met up with teacher Hillary Thorin and Local Food Alliance of Northern Michigan member Larry Dyer to assist 5th graders at Central Elementary in transplanting echinacea, rudbeckia, agastache (hyssop), serviceberry trees, and highbush cranberries into pollinator beds.  They planted strawberries and harvested flowers, squash, tomatoes, peppers, and ground cherries.  Fall crops planted include carrots, beans, and a few cucumbers.

Hillary Thorin, teacher at Central Elementary, sent an email afterwards: “Thank YOU all for your help! The kids had a ton of fun. They loved seeing how the garden had grown and actually harvesting. We set out baskets of veggies and flowers for families to pick up as they came in. I also plan to use the buckwheat seeds as a science lesson for second grade. We will be observing them using hand lens. I look forward to getting more kiddos in the garden soon!”

Northern Michigan Master Gardener Association (NMMGA) has collaborated with the Local Food Alliance of Northern Michigan and Public Schools of Petoskey, Central Elementary since 2022. Pictures are from a NMMGA membership meeting at the garden on August 28. Jen Schaap, Food & Farming Director of Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities; Larry Dyer, Garden Coordinator with the Health Department of Northwest Michigan; and Hillary Thorin, STEM teacher for Central Elementary School presented on the history of the garden going from an area completely and deeply covered in rubbish and weeds behind a tall fence to a ‘secret garden’ with raised beds, potential pollinator plant beds, and ideas toward creating in the future an interactive sound/music garden.