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Pocket Prairies & Pollinators
Summer Camp
Lesson Plans
Our lessons were held in the parks where the pocket prairies are located, so campers would often be coming from the playground or running around. To help them transition into 'camp mode,' we began each weekly lesson by reading a story related to that week's theme, allowing the campers to relax and settle in.
Planting a Pocket of Prairie
Planting a Pocket of Prairie
Story book of the day:
Plant a Pocket of Prairie by Phillis Root and Betsy Bowen
Activities include:
Talking with campers about what types of plants and flowers we'd be planting in the pocket prairie, and what types of pollinators might come and visit the pocket prairie once it's established. As well as how long it will take the pocket prairie to bloom.
(Visuals attached below)
Walking campers through the planting process and demonstrating the correct way to plant a plant in the ground.
Planting/building the pocket prairie! Some campers preferred to water while others preferred to get their hands dirty and work with the plants.
During the planting process, pausing to show campers which plants are which and pointing out characteristics of the plants that might help them remember what's in their pocket prairie.
Delores would often bring vegetable seedlings that she had grown herself. So at the end of every camp lesson, we would set aside some time to have campers pick out which pepper, celery, carrot, etc. plant that they wanted to repot and guide them through the repotting process and tell them about how to care for their vegetable plant. This introduced some campers to the concept of growing their own food and tending to their plants.
Monarchs and Their Milkweed
Monarchs and Their Milkweed
Story book of the day:
Traveling Butterflies by Susumu Shingu
Activities include:
Describing to campers the relationship between Monarch Butterflies and Milkweed plants. Followed by teaching them about Monarch's epic migration down south. Showing pictures of Monarch clusters on trees down in the forests where they winter is a favorite.
Giving each camper a nursery pot and a packet of Swamp Milkweed seeds and walking them through the process of sowing seeds in potting soil. From there you can let campers scoop up their own dirt into their pots, and guide them through the seed planting process. Follow up by watering their new seeds.
Going into the pocket prairies and having campers identify which plants are Milkweed, and have them check to see if there are any caterpillars present. If not, remind campers what to look out for by showing them pictures of Monarch caterpillars.
Bumblebees and Their Homes
Bumblebees and Their Homes
Story book of the day:
Begin with a Bee by Liza Ketchum, Jacqueline Briggs Martin, Phyllis Root, and Claudia McGehee
Activities Include:
Going over native bee species in the area, and pointing out which flowers in the pocket prairies are most attractive to bees.
Describing the importance of bees in relation to the food that we eat. This could be done using actual pieces of produce to use as a visual and have campers imagine that produce disappearing, to emphasize the importance of bees in their own lives.
Teaching campers about where Bumblebees like to build their nests, in order to transition into building the Bumblebee home.
Materials needed for the bumblebee home:
10+ inch terracotta pot
15 inch segment of a garden hose
10x10 inch square of chicken wire. Size will vary depending on the size of the terracotta pot
handful of small rocks
1 ceramic tile
moss/dried grass
Allotting each camper a section on the outside of the Bumblebee pot to paint and decorate.
Having campers collect dried grass and moss to use in the Bumblebee homes.
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