Schoolyard Habitat Campaign

As you may know, the students of BCS are taking on the challenge of the National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools program. At the heart of our efforts is the Schoolyard Habitat Campaign, a yearlong initiative where students learn to plan, design, and maintain a schoolyard habitat that supports both wildlife and our community.

This year, we’ve chosen to focus on the “Build a Pollinator Garden” project, creating a space that not only provides essential resources for pollinators but also serves as a living classroom for hands-on learning and discovery.

The Eco-Schools program emphasizes community involvement at every stage of a project. I’ll be posting opportunities regularly for anyone who wants to join in. There truly is something for everyone: introverts and extroverts, those with only a few minutes or a lot of time to spare, those who love getting their hands in the soil, those who can contribute a small donation, and those who want to take on a larger role. Every bit helps, and volunteering is meant to feel like a natural extension of who you are—never a burden.

Please contact me if you are interested in helping out (kathy@bromptonschool.org).  Check out the opportunities below.  If you can't make the scheduled time, or prefer solo work, please contact me for an appointment.

First Semester Garden Work Dates 

• Friday, October 3rd (Teacher Workday/ Parent Conferences), 10am- 2pm, or by appointment

• Saturday, October 4th, Noon- 3pm, or by appointment

• Sunday, November 9th, 10am-2pm (No School Monday)

• Saturday, November 22nd, 10am - 2pm 

Outline of Objectives for first Semester Work

• • Till additional Native Plant beds

    • We have one large tiller.  Additional tillers are welcome, small or large.  The ground is VERY HARD.

  • Plant donated Native Plants

    • Drill auger is useful for hard clay

  • Weed existing beds, clear new bed space

    • Bring Shovels, hand spades

  • Light Weed eating/ Edging

    • Bring battery powered weed eaters  

  • Use downed trees for edging

    • Bring small chain saws/ hand saws 

  • Clear leaves from Outdoor Classrooms and collect for mulch

    • Bring leaf blower/ tarp/ rakes

  • Dig and set back gate posts and side gate posts (we have gates and posts)

    • Auger and cement are needed

Donations to Consider

• • • Cypress Mulch, Brown Mulch, Chopped leaves (bulk loads or bags)

    • Compost/ Black Kow (bulk loads or bags)

    • Wood to repair raised beds (recycled wood is fine)/ screws, etc.

Nature Intensive Class

On Friday, our advanced nature studies class, the BCS Nature Intensive, spent their weekly in-depth nature experience at the Clifton Institute, where biologist Bridget Bradshaw guided students through a hands-on field study of insects. Students not only collected data but also contributed their findings to ongoing research on the Institute’s 900-acre conservation property.

Clifton Institute is an incredible place to learn—where science comes alive and students’ efforts matter. By participating, our students aren’t just learning about ecology; they’re actively supporting real, relevant scientific work.

Check out the Nature Intensive photo journal  HERE!

Growing our Native Plant Garden:  A Community Labor of Love

I’d like to give a shout-out to the volunteers who quietly work in the background, putting into practice “small and slow solutions” that have allowed us to jumpstart our Learning Garden. This concept, a foundational principle of permaculture gardening, emphasizes the importance of thoughtful, intentional actions as a way to create positive ecological impact. In other words, real and lasting change takes time.

Thanks to the committed and steady dedication of our humble volunteers, we are able to implement our garden curriculum this fall! As you’ll see in upcoming posts, gardening is a powerful gateway to Nature Connection. Our children come alive when observing the ecosystem of a garden—it’s truly an amazing thing to witness.

At this point, we can’t exactly boast of a permaculture paradise, but we are moving in the right direction. Every day, I’m amazed by the resilience, tenacity, and adaptability of plants—and regularly touched by the generosity of our Brompton community, who help care for them. Last July, for example, I received seed-grown native plants from Sherrie (Arya’s Grandma and a Master Gardener), which are now thriving alongside our vegetables. Despite drought and heat, the Butterfly Weed, Coreopsis, Asters, and Mallow she shared have grown into large, well-established plants.

In another example of small and slow solutions, we owe sincere thanks to a parent and Master Naturalist who has collaborated with our Middle Schoolers for several years to grow native plants from seed. A couple of weekends ago, this parent worked with me to plant a bed of Penstemon, Goldenrod, Blue Mist, Columbine, Joe Pye Weed, Boneset, and Butterfly Weed. At that time, it hadn’t rained in weeks, and the ground was so hard we had to use a drill auger just to loosen the soil for planting. Since then, with a little compost and daily care from students, teachers, and administrators, the plants are taking hold—providing lessons for our students and nectar for pollinators.

It is through generosity and sustained contributions like these that we are able to advance our education and Nature Connection goals.

Moving Forward: Student Integration and Community Involvement

Our current goal is find ways to integrate student input and the efforts of BCS community volunteers in order to  cultivate a large and diverse bed of native plants inside our garden plot. If you have seedlings or seeds to spare, we’d love your help—the efforts of our community are truly beginning to pay off.  Additionally, if you’d like to lend a hand with garden work, let me know (kathy@bromptonschool.org).  There’s something appropriate for everyone's schedule and preference, whether a 5 minute pop-ins or a longer weekend collaboration.

Opportunity for Involvement:  September 28th

Calling all fellow Nature Nuts!  Check out the annual Fall Native Plant Sale to be held on September 28th at Fred Nats Stadium. If you’re planning to support the vendors, consider picking up a few extra plants for the BCS Learning Garden—we’d be so grateful! I hope to see you there!

A Walk in the Garden

Our Learning Garden is the perfect “field school” for BCS students and teachers. Throughout the year, students will consider an important question: How can we transform this overlooked space into a healthy habitat for both pollinators and people, while minimizing our impact on the bordering woodland ecosystem?

Join us on a photo tour of this week’s walk through the garden. On Monday, students in first, second, and third grade took time to study and learn among the flowers, herbs, and vegetables. Once again, nature proved to be the best and most beautiful teacher.

6th and 8th Grade Nature Connection:  Food Waste into Healthy Soil

Our students contribute to the garden’s future by saving waste from their lunches, building up compost for spring planting and providing an excellent outdoor laboratory for study. Recently, some of our Middle Schoolers had a close encounter with decomposition, peering into the compost pile to see the hidden processes at work. While we aren’t striving for the gold standard of compost management, our goal is to create a system that allows for detailed observation. “Brown, Green, Stir” is our method of choice, and for now we’re composting in place—building up the garden beds directly so they’ll be rich and ready when planting season arrives. 

Observation and Experimentation

We love using compost as a way to study natural processes—especially the concept of balance. Each day, we add about three-quarters of a 5-gallon bucket of food waste to our pile. That’s a lot of “green” material!

Students are noticing that decomposition is well underway, thanks to fungus and insects. But they’ve also discovered that the pile needs turning, airflow, and a lot more “brown” material to stay balanced. How do they know? Things get stinky when the pile is off! Naturally, our Middle Schoolers are quick to claim the role of resident experts in all things smelly.

Our next challenge: designing a data sheet to track what’s happening in the compost pile. I can’t wait to see what the students create! (If you’re curious, this simple article does a great job explaining what makes a successful compost pile.)

Want to Contribute to Our Compost Study?

We could really use some chopped leaves (a lawn mower or weed eater works well!) to help keep our pile balanced. Stinky piles can attract critters, and while our compost isn’t located near the school building, we don’t want to encourage unwanted garden visitors.

If you have chopped leaves to share—whether by the bucket or by the truckload—please send me an email at kathy@bromptonschool.org.