Photo by Susan Kirkland. from left are Jennifer Halko, Sonia Chapman, Superintendent Rick Townsend, back row: Donna Enis, Steve Smith, Tucker Greene.

Hill  City Elementary became a habitat for flowers, wildlife, and education, recently being awarded national recognition by the National Wildlife Federation. They created a Schoolyard Habitat through its Garden for Wildlife program becoming one of more than 5,000 schools nationwide to turn their schoolyards into thriving wildlife habitats. It was a labor of love, said Sonia Chapman, who as the agriculture teacher, spearheaded the project.

“I read about this project online at the National Wildlife Federation website back during the winter,” she said. “My plans were to work with the students in the school gardens to qualify it as a national schoolyard.  We also have a pond on school property that was grown up with trees and briars that I wanted to qualify as a National Wildlife habitat.”

So, the seed was planted. Chapman said Hill City was awarded as the pilot program for the National Schoolyard project and they started the National Wildlife Habitat in April, after the schools closed. They started the pilot program in school year 2019-2020.  NWF, America’s largest wildlife conservation and education organization, is pleased to recognize that Hill City Elementary in Jasper, Ga. has successfully created a Certified Schoolyard Habitat through its Garden for Wildlife program.

Sunflowers and a birdhouse provide food and a habitat for local wildlife at Hill City Elementary. The school was recently named a Schoolyard Habitat by the WWF.

The Hill City Elementary habitat is located just off of the playground. Students can visit the gardens during their outside play time or with their classroom teacher. A variety of plants have been planted to encourage wildlife. Hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, brown thrashers, and a variety of other birds have been seen visiting. Feeders, bird houses and water stations are located throughout the garden. An additional location at Hill City Elementary has been certified as a wildlife habitat. This area has a pond with fish and other wildlife living there. Frogs can be heard croaking in the water and squirrels rustling the trees. A flower garden and a sitting area overlooks the pond. Feeders and nesting houses have been added to support the local wildlife.

“We are excited to be able to provide this opportunity for our students here at Hill City Elementary,” said Chapman.

Students help

But Chapman wasn’t the only one getting her hands dirty in the project. Students deadheaded flowers in the school garden, dried the petals and collected the seeds, which they started in the classroom.

“We placed them in containers and saved them to replant in the school garden, ” she said.

Students planted pollinator  flowers, wildflowers, and sunflower seeds. After the unexpected school closure, Chapman transplanted the student flowers into the greenhouse until it was warm enough to plant in the school garden.

The Schoolyard Habitat at Hill City Elementary provides places for birds to nest.

Cost

Chapman said they have been fortunate that to date, the cost has mostly been in labor.  They have repurposed and refurbished a lot of items. Some have been donated and a few have been purchased. Upkeep will be continuous as the gardens will need feed and water, plants will need to be replaced, weeding and reseeding grass will be needed.

Also, there are future goals, such as fruit trees, and more nesting houses around the pond.

“This will be an ongoing project,” she said.

What it means

A pond, with a swing and garden on the bank gives students, and teachers, a place to sit and enjoy the sights and smells of nature.

Certification also makes your Certified Wildlife Habitat part of the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge, a national effort to restore critical habitat for pollinators.

“We are excited to have another school join our growing list of more than 5,000 certified Schoolyard Habitats. Kids can now personally experience nature through hands-on learning in an outdoor environment,” said Liz Soper, Director of K-12 Programs for National Wildlife Federation.

But, aside from the accolades, the project has meaning closer to home.

The green house sits among the flora at Hill City Elementary. The school was awarded a pilot program in agriculture and has recently been named a Schoolyard Habitat.

“This project was a labor of love,” said Chapman.

She said the instability of the quarantine took so much away from so many.

“This project gave me joy and hope for a better tomorrow,” she said. Students couldn’t come and help during the quarantine and although she missed that, she knew that if the circumstances were different, her students would be working along side of her.

“The students were so excited about the prospect of getting to the pond and studying the wildlife, plants and water,” she said. ” I worked for the kids knowing that if they could they would be right there beside me getting this project ready. ”

These two areas, national schoolyard and national wildlife habitat, will allow the students hands-on learning outside of the classroom she said.

NWF’s Garden for Wildlife program encourages responsible gardening that helps pollinators and other wildlife thrive. It encourages planting with native species like milkweed and discouraging chemical pesticide use. Yards, schools, businesses, places of worship, campuses, parks, farms and other community-based landscapes are eligible to become wildlife sanctuaries.

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