Student Lessons in the Pollinator Garden

School is back in full swing and the students are back in the gardens. 

Exploring. Observing. Planting. Learning. 

My first lesson with my new group of Junior Master Gardeners was a scavenger hunt in the pollinator garden. This was their first visit and introduction to their school gardens. The goal was to teach them to be observant gardeners, get them excited about gardening and to start a conversation about what they saw and found. Since this is a volunteer job I have more flexibility in my lesson plans and I use their comments as a guide to what we will focus on in subsequent lessons.

It is amazing how many children are afraid of bees.  One vital subject we will cover is the importance of bees. How much they depend on bees for most things they eat everyday. And how best to act if a bee is flying around them. (Stay calm!)

Butterflies excite children! 

There is something so magical about watching butterflies flutter around the garden.

Students will learn how to be good stewards of the environment and Mother Nature will reward with wonderful creatures, including butterflies, to enjoy!

Look! Two butterflies on one bloom!

Fall offers a very diverse number of butterflies so one of the first lessons we cover is the Life Cycle of Butterflies. We do a craft showing the 4 stages but the best teacher is the garden where the students get to witness the stages in real time.

Black swallowtail caterpillars in various instar stages on parsley

chrysalis on goldenrod

See how well the chrysalis camouflages in the goldenrod. 

empty chrysalis

Students observed the behaviors of the butterflies.

They learned how the butterflies keep their wing muscles warm even when resting

Buckeye resting on stepping stone

 Students learned how the colors on the butterflies wings help camouflage them and act as a warning to predators. And how they use wing shape and color to identify and impress a mate.

Buckeye on Guara (aka whirling butterflies)

Students learned how warmth and wind are factors for butterflies. The butterflies use wind to soar and drift and migrate (we are keeping our eyes open for monarchs). Our day in the garden was a little windy and the butterflies looked like they were struggling to keep their balance on the blooms.

Searching for insects is a favorite activity, especially with the boys. This is a perfect way to lead into a lesson about beneficial and pests in the garden.

Lady beetle going after aphids

And there are opportunities to discuss reproduction of the animal world.

It often happens to children

and sometimes to gardeners

that they are given gifts of value

of which they do not perceive

until much later.

~ Wayne Winterrowd

I meet with two groups of 3rd graders (40 students) on Fridays for a one hour lesson as part of their school day. In addition to gardening I incorporate math, science, art, environmental studies, literature and nutrition into the lessons. Next up is fall planting in the vegetable garden. And there is nothing that excites children more than harvesting food that they grew from seed.