West Vincent Elementary School Pitstop Progress

- Donna Delany, EAC Chair

At the first meeting of the West Vincent Elementary School Nature Club on Nov. 7, the students had a blast creating their own Pollinator Pitstop at the school. They learned about nature while having lots of fun! Nurse Becky Kilfoy gave a short lesson on biodiversity and pollinators, and, then the aspiring gardeners got down to work designing their garden. They chose the site, marked the outline with spray paint, ripped apart cardboard boxes, and fit them together like puzzle pieces to cover the ground, which is partly an old planting bed and partly lawn.

The students then marched off in search of rocks heavy enough to weigh down the cardboard, so it won’t blow away on a windy day. The most fun activity of all was dumping several large bags of leaves saved from the garbage and then jumping and playing in the leaves to spread them evenly over the cardboard. The garden will be ready for planting in the spring after the lawn, leaves, and cardboard break down into soil-enriching humus.

The next step for the students is to choose their favorite natives to plant in the garden and around the campus. The focus will be on “Keystone” plants (the plants that provide the most benefit in our area), plants that flower i