Story contributed by Maggie Poplawski
Photos by District 58 Community Relations
Recently, there has been a lot of human activity around the reading benches at Belle Aire School. Soon, there will be a lot of butterfly activity. Today, Belle Aire second graders, teachers Jill Oakley and Tara Fulton, and parent volunteers jointly prepared the land and planted milkweed, butterfly bush and other native plants. When completed, the area will welcome a butterfly garden with more than 200 native plants. (Photos depicted in gallery above.)
Last fall, Belle Aire School was awarded a School Yard Habitat Action Grant by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The grant provides monies for native plants and garden amendments to allow the school to establish a native area on the school grounds. Sponsors of this grant include the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Jadel Youth Fund, the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Foundation, the Illinois Conservation Fund, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife.
During today's tree planting, Belle Aire second graders also learned how to write a thank you note. Ms. Oakley told the students about how generous the grant donors and parent volunteers were to help make the garden a reality. The students learned the components of a good thank you note, and they used their best handwriting to compose their personal letters. (Photos featured in the gallery above).
Students in Ms. Oakley’s second grade class are learning the importance of native plants to the life cycle of butterflies and other native species. The students sowed milkweed seed in the classroom, so that Monarch caterpillars may also have a home in the Belle Aire butterfly garden. Jeanette Goodlow, Belle Aire neighbor and parent of former Belle Aire students, donated from her stash of milkweed seed so the kids could have an authentic sowing experience. Says Goodlow, “It might take a few years to see results which is hard for the kids, but worth the wait.”
Amanda Arnold, Landscape Architect at The Planter’s Palette in Winfield, donated her time and expertise by providing a drawing of the garden, as well as a list of suitable plants for the area. To source the plants, Belle Aire contacted Possibility Place in Monee, who specializes in contract growing native plants. And, for help in preparing the beds, Belle Aire family and owners of Cut Above Landscaping Jim and Kerry Finley generously donated the cost of labor so that the project could be completed within the budget of the grant award.
“I love that this is truly a community project, involving staff, students, current and past parents, and area businesses to make the garden a success,” says Maggie Poplawski, parent of current Belle Aire students. “It teaches the kids that by collaborating with others and tapping local resources, you can accomplish great things.”