The AXL CAP students had a lot of grand ideas for their class action project this last trimester. There were talks of planting gardens and building a Gaga Ball court (a game played at Cheley Outpost on their class overnight). They knew that they definitely wanted to do something that would benefit their school AND the environment. With some help from their teachers Vicki and Kristin, they settled on doing something that would help our pollinator friends as well, and decided they would put pollinator-friendly plants around their campus.

The first thing to do was research! The most common pollinators that came to mind for them were bees and butterflies. They were surprised to learn that bats, hummingbirds, and even wasps played a role as pollinators as well. They found information on the problems these species face and got really excited about doing something. After identifying pollinators, they set to work on finding out the best plants for them, which included lavender, columbine, butterfly weed, and sunflowers to name a few.

Then came the fun part! They created posters to put around the school with information about pollinators, and each of them got to chose a pot to paint and make their own. They used both purchased pots and ones made from recycled materials from their homes. Once the paint was dry, they each chose from an assortment of seeds, to make sure there were lots of choices for our pollinator friends, and found good sunny spots around the school to leave them. The 8th graders in the group were beyond excited to be leaving a legacy at their middle school for other students to come to enjoy. Some students were worried about leaving their plants all alone all summer, but Ms. G ensured them that she would keep them watered and taken care of until the fall!

See more photos here!

Written by AXL CAP co-instructor Vicki Whisenhunt