On Wednesday, April 20, 2016, Mrs. Patrick and Dr. Neubauer invited 6th and 7th-graders to help fix up a garden on the corner of Dozier and Highmarket Streets so that it will attract butterflies and bees. The garden is our school’s contribution to Earth Day 2016 (Friday, April 22).

The group of gardeners (“dream team”?) went out to an abandoned raised bed on county property. They found the bed in a sad state. Lantana bushes which the county had planted were doing fine, but the bed had been invaded by weeds and fire ants. First, Mrs. Patrick killed untold amounts of fire ants.  Then she took her magical “pickaxe” (as the kids called it) and began fiercely pulling weeds left and right. Then everyone started to pitch in. There were many jobs to be carried out, but as everyone knows, with a little teamwork anything can be accomplished. Everyone worked hard and had a good time weeding, planting some new plants and carrying water (9 buckets across Dozier Street!). There were also many roots to be pulled, but again Mrs. Patrick saved the day with the magical pickaxe.

This butterfly garden now looks pretty good and will be enjoyed by many people and bugs for years to come. It was definitely a good deed for our community and our environment. Thank you to Mrs. Patrick for assisting in this wonderful action and a big thank you to Dr. Neubauer for putting this project together. These Kingfishers wish everyone a Happy Earth Day!

By Zachary Wesolowski