By Suzann Rensel,Clear Creek State Park Environmental Education Specialist

Students from Oklahoma Elementary School, one of eight elementary schools in the Dubois Area School District, understand they can take conservation personally. They have created a new habitat for wildlife right outside the school windows.

The second through fifth graders at the Clearfield County school participated in a PTA after-school enrichment program, dubbed "Habitat Helpers." Under the direction of fifth-grade teacher Shelly French andClear Creek State ParkEnvironmental Education Specialist Suzann Rensel, more than 30 students attended twice a week in May and June.

The students learned some basics: information on habitats and invasive species; why native species should be planted; how habitats for many species are shrinking; and how people can encourage natural diversity in their communities. Moving outdoors, they searched for signs that animals already lived there (a pre-inventory), and recorded plants growing in the area.

They then used maps, drawn to scale by fifth-grade math students, to plan where native shrubs, trees and flowers go. The afternoon before the planting, they checked out DCNR’siConserve websiteand developed a list of their own conservation phrases to submit.

Once planting began, parents became involved, and within three afternoons, a grand change took place. Shrubs and trees, selected to provide either food or shelter for songbirds, enhanced three sides of an open courtyard. On the fourth side, perennial flowers for hummingbird birds and butterflies soon complemented an existing bird-feeding area. The students knew water is a must in a habitat, so they put in a garden pond, too.

It was a great undertaking involving two locally owned nursery/garden supply stores, the school administration and maintenance staff, a garden club, Clear Creek State Park, the school PTA, a DEP grant and most importantly, the students. Their enthusiasm was tremendous—parents would be waiting to pick them up, but the students wanted to stay and keep digging. When they finished one thing they came looking for more. And there never was a lack of help for watering in the following days.

To keep the rest of the school involved, the fifth-grade Habitat Helpers went to all homerooms on Friday mornings to deliver a “status report,” Soon, other students were wondering how to get involved in “that gardening thing.”

This fall, Habitat Helpers will meet again to perform a post inventory, weed and water the area, determine if any changes are needed, and pick an iConserve slogan. Several classes will be participating in Monarch Watch and Mrs. French will continue to coordinate the feeding area.

The last leg of the grant, which had funded a Schoolyard Habitats teacher in-service given by Clear Creek State Park, calls for the school to share its successes and challenges with the other seven elementary schools in the district.

Perhaps the students can address their other schoolmates with the simple question: iConserve, do you?

Reprinted fromDCNR's Resourceonline newsletter.

9/26/2008