55 Scarsdale Rd, North York, ON M3B 2R3
Inspired by Project Swallowtail, Danielle had already grown some native plants from seed, and had received other pollinator magnets as divisions from a friend’s garden. When Danielle approached WillowWood school with the offer to help, the lower school Principal, Jill B, warmly welcomed her efforts. Jill connected Danielle to Sarah B, another WillowWood parent and avid gardener, and to Armando C, one of the school custodians. Danielle & Sarah worked together to lay a pathway of stepping stones, add native plants, and apply cacao husk and wood chip mulch to the garden. Armando faithfully watered the new planting, helping the plants to root and thrive.
Danielle joined the Underhill Seedsitters in January 2024, knowing that she wanted to expand the school garden, and also get the children involved in growing native plants for the garden. Jill connected Danielle to Jennifer S, a Grade 6 WW teacher who runs the garden club at the school. Using resources from the USS, Danielle led an engaging workshop for students in the WW garden club.
Using resources from the USS, Danielle led . On February 15, with the support of Jennifer, Danielle led an engaging workshop on winter sowing for students in the WW garden club and it was clear that the students were highly engaged, and asked great questions. Danielle says, “They enjoyed sharing key facts about the plant species they planted, as well as ordering the Monarch butterfly life cycle. The students asked what we will do with the seedlings that will grow from the seeds we planted today: will they get to take them home? I said some will be planted at school and some will find homes in the community. If they have a spot to grow one of these plants long term, taking a seedling home is definitely a possibility!”
The planted pots were covered with chicken wire and left in the garden, exposed to the elements so that they would naturally stratify. On April 11th, you could see some seeds germinating.
By May 22nd, the seedlings were getting quite big.
On June 10th, once again with support from Jennifer, Danielle led a workshop in which the children learned how to divide and pot up the seedlings. It was so much fun. Afterwards, the children also had a chance to plant some plants that had been grown by USS members in the garden.
Kudos to Danielle and Jennifer for such a wonderful project and we’re looking to see how the children learn and interact in the garden.
