Second grade students collaborated with landscape designers and biologists on the design of a pollinator garden at Eastwood Park, which is located a block behind the school on the edge of a creek. The garden is beneficial for the community in a multitude of ways. Not only is it helpful for the environment by creating a barrier to prevent storm water runoff into the creek and eventually into our water sources, it attracts important pollinators, like bees, butterflies, bats, and hummingbirds.

In addition to learning all about the importance of pollinators and native plants & grasses in the classroom, the students receive a hands-on learning experience by maintaining the garden themselves. Because the students wanted to share their newfound knowledge about the importance of pollinators with the community, they asked me to help design some educational signs for the garden. I was even able to visit the classroom to teach them a bit about graphic design so they could better understand how to contribute to the sign design process. As a result, they produced some beautiful drawings of a few common pollinators found in the garden so I was able to incorporate a few on the welcome sign.

As budget permits, more signs will be created to educate community about the importance of preventing storm water runoff and the pollution of our water sources. The hope is that this project will inspire more environmentally educational and community based projects throughout the area.