Monarch Watch

Late last summer I reclaimed a patch of lawn at the school where I teach using the lasagna method. I raked up grass clippings, recycled newspapers, hunted down last fall's leaves, gathered manure from a local horse barn, etc, etc. My co-workers mostly muttered about my sanity and wondered why the principal was allowing all that "garbage" to be laid right next to the front entrance. I planted in the fall and prayed through the winter. I finally got some photos that I could upload of my officially registered Monarch Waystation today. Daily, the students and staff enjoy passing the peaceful beauty. I hope you enjoy it too.

Great work and a wonderful addition to the school. Lovely photo! What species of milkweed do you grow there?

Asclepias tuberosa, incarnata and speciosa so far. It's a new garden--give me time. ;-)

Your work in teaching about butterflies will last those kids a lifetime. A visual bf garden with host and nectar plants is an invaluable teaching tool. My hats off to you! Wish more educators in school systems across the country would do what you are doing.

Sounds like your school garden is the best learning experience for your students. It's so good to have those young minds thinking about conservation.

Excellent work!!! Wish I'd had teachers like you when I was growing up. Our school never had a butterfly garden or much of anything outdoors. My regret is that I never paid attention to butterflies until a few years ago. I keep wondering what wonderous flutter-bys I missed seeing all those years. But alas, am making up for it now!!! :o)

~ Cat

Wish that it were so. We all carry on as if all of our students understood all that we present to them. The sad truth is that our students are severely cognitively impaired, medically frail and multiply handicapped. We develop creative and exciting lessons within the Core Curriculum, but most of our students can not walk, talk, eat and many cannot even move themselves to shift weight in their wheelchairs. I believe there is a level of understanding and at least a sense of human contact. OUr teaching is always multi-sensory in the hopes that if one of more senses is impaired, we will connect with one of the intact ones. Hopefully this garden will provide smells, sights, textures, sounds and movements that will some how, on some level, bring a bit of joy to these innocent, damaged young people.
God Bless them all.

Hi LadyCleo! I applaud you in your dedication and efforts to provide external stimulation for your students through a garden.

I work with ESE students at a public elementary school. Much of the walkways at my school are surrounded by butterfly & critter gardens. It's become a major commitment at our school. All of these gardens are classroom created gardens. Most of the students in my class participate in our class garden where we visit and sometimes work in it every day even if just for a few minutes.

In the Early Spring Issue of "Garden Ideas & Outdoor Living", which is a Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publication, they featured a wonderful article titled "The Healing Touch" by Barbara Nielsen. It was an amazing article about raised accessible garden beds designed for children with special needs. These were created for McMains Children's Developmental Center in Baton Rouge. See this link about the center:
http://www.mcmainscdc.org/News/
And here is the article from the magazine:
http://www.mcmainscdc.org/pdf/Article_Garden.pdf

Perhaps it might be something you could show the principal of your school. The students in my class are not severely disabled, so we have the typical garden beds. But for children who need enabling or accessible gardens, this design is quite impressive. I hope you will take a look at the links I listed. I found it quite inspiring! Perhaps it could be something that community volunteers could build at your school if such an idea is worth considering for the benefit of the students. ;-)

Hi, LadyCleo and Becky--your work and commitment is a wonderful inspiration for all of us. And so happy to hear you use Mother Earth and 'hands-on' gardening to enrich each child's day! The kids are so lucky to have you as teachers!

LC--Do you have a sign out from the Monarch Watch people declaring your 'official' butterfly garden? It might be a good 'prompt' for the parents, admins and teachers walking by to learn more about your BF project---It's so cute and the idea might catch on at home!

Several years ago I attended a lecture by a UCLA Ph.D. whose research interest was hands-on gardening for troubled and impaired children and its effects on their treatment/therapy. It was a marvelous concept and as you already know, an effective one for communicating with kids and developing their skills, confidence, well-being, general understanding and knowledge. Well, I could go on, but I know I am preaching to the choir here!

Best of luck to you all. t.

p.s. for those who are interested in aspects of Garden Therapy--here is a nice book list--- https://www.amrms.com/ssl/ahta/publications/

Nice book list you posted tabasco! Thanks! I might check into one or two of them. :-)

LadyC,Becky and anyone else who works with children....
I commend you! There is nothing like placing the beauty of Mother Nature in front of the eyes of those who are ailing. It's a gift that you're giving!!

Adrienne