Partners in Place

It is wonderful when an elementary school has access to green space! In this case, third-grade students inventoried all of the trees, shrubs, and flowering plants in their school forest. Back in the classroom, they summarized the field notes, looked up information about wildlife food habits, and used the Wheel of the Year to illustrate the kinds of food available to wildlife through the seasons. They noticed two times of food scarcity: an absence of bushes that bear fruit for birds and mammals in June (shown in this close-up) and a lack of fall-blooming wildflowers that provide nectar for hummingbirds and insects. They used their Wheel to inspire the entire school to help plant serviceberry bushes and wildflowers to create more diverse food sources for wildlife.

Submitted by Georgia Gomez-Ibanez, Cambridge Elementary School, Wisconsin. See the Resources and Links on this website for the Earth Partnership for Schools curriculum you can use.