WINNSBORO – Last week’s grand opening was a celebration for Midlands STEM Charter School’s 4-H Club.
Complete with a ribbon cutting and a butterfly release, the ceremony highlighted the hard work of club members, who designed and planted the garden on the school’s campus.
Pollinator gardens are reminiscent of WWI Victory Gardens in that they are intended to help cover food shortages, but for insects rather than people.
The goal of a pollinator garden is to provide nectar and pollen in an effort to reverse the decline of pollinators like bees and provide a habitat for monarch butterflies.
The garden’s impact is two-fold. Not only will it help pollinators and butterflies, the hands-on task also gave students valuable experience in environmental science and horticulture.
Students in the 4-H Club at Midlands STEM were involved in every step – from soliciting donations for materials and plants to complete the garden, to planning and designing it with the help of Fairfield County 4-H agent Martina Wicker, Lauren Beck and Courtney Corby.
“We hope this garden will bring bees, butterflies, and all other much needed forms of life to our area,” Corby wrote in a post on Facebook. “The kids worked so hard and learned so much! They’ll have something to look at with pride as they walk into school each day for the rest of their time at MSCS, and their legacy will live on when they graduate!”
The garden includes knockout roses, sunflowers, snap dragons and salvias.
