Gardening and Bluebird Box Trails
Fritillary butterfly on echinacea
Butterfly and Hummingbird Perennial Gardens
Once established, perennial gardens offer an attractive, low maintenance, and inexpensive backyard habitat well-suited to schools, camps, communities and private homes, particularly where space is limited. Easily incorporated into camp or school curricula, they offer ample opportunities to experience, firsthand - and delve into - the life histories and ecology of plants, insects, and other garden visitors. Among others, typical plants used include bee balm, Echinacea (purple coneflower), lobelia (cardinal flower) butterfly weed and black-eyed Susan.
Once established, perennial gardens offer an attractive, low maintenance, and inexpensive backyard habitat well-suited to schools, camps, communities and private homes, particularly where space is limited. Easily incorporated into camp or school curricula, they offer ample opportunities to experience, firsthand - and delve into - the life histories and ecology of plants, insects, and other garden visitors. Among others, typical plants used include bee balm, Echinacea (purple coneflower), lobelia (cardinal flower) butterfly weed and black-eyed Susan.
 Tree swallow young and adult using bird box |
Bluebird Condo-Mondo Bluebirds require open areas to forage and appropriate-sized tree cavities to construct nests. Where natural cavities in trees are lacking, bluebird boxes can be erected to provide nesting sites. With hammer and nails, pre-cut bluebird box kits can be easily assembled (pre-constructed nest boxes can also be provided) and bluebird box trails established in open areas of communities, golf courses, camps and schools. This offers youth and adults the opportunity to engage directly in enhancing community natural resources by establishing and supporting a breeding population of these beautiful, charismatic songbirds. Nest box projects also provide direct experience for school students in studying the ecology, particularly the nesting cycle, of any species occupying nest boxes, which, in addition to bluebirds, includes tree swallows, black-capped chickadees, house wrens and the tufted titmouse. In addition to overseeing construction and installation of boxes, support is provided in nest box monitoring. |
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From Seed to Salad Gardening and Composting From sowing seeds to harvest, organic gardening provides an excellent opportunity for participants to be introduced to the wonderful world of growing and harvesting flowers and vegetables. Where there are space constraints, poor soil conditions or other limiting factors, simple, wooden-sided raised beds can be constructed for small-scale gardening. Great for communities, schools (click here for a slideshow of Stourbridge Primary Center's garden project) and camps and suitable for all ages, particularly children. Can be readily incorporated into camp or school curricula. To meet time constraints of summer camps, relatively fast-growing varieties of plants are selected. In addition, if needed, beds can be established and planted in advance to provide for a harvest while camp is still in session. Click here to return to "Programs Offered" page. |
 Lettuce mix ready for harvest |
