Mrs. Nelson’s fifth grade class at Eastern Elementary asked for some assistance in the building of their class project, a rain garden, so today Miss Cindy and Miss Tesha went to help. Miss Stefy from Master Gardeners and Colleen from the Great Lakes Water Studies Institute were also there to share their expertise with the children. A rain garden is designed to catch the rain run off from impervious surfaces and reduce erosion all while providing water to plants. All the plants put into the garden were native and bought at the GTCD Native Plant Sale and were chosen by the class. The class also designed the shape and size of the garden.

The project started with digging up the grass and laying the outline for the garden. Once the hard topsoil was removed, compost from the district was used to fill the area with rich organic matter. The children used the remaining compost to fill in holes around the schoolyard. Next our professionals helped the children decide where to put the shade loving plants, partial sun plants, and sun loving plants. The children each took turns planting their plants and helping spread the left over dirt around the yard. Some rocks picked and designed by the students were also placed throughout the garden. The last and final step was to lay the mulch down on top and then admire their beautiful garden! Everyone was dedicated to the project and did a wonderful job. Thanks to custodian Gerry who has volunteered to water the garden when school is out!