Growing Gardens One School at a Time

For the last three years, Recycling Connections has partnered with the City of Stevens Point Public Utilities Department to install native rain and prairie gardens at six schools in Stevens Point. This initiative supports the Green & Healthy Schools efforts at several Stevens Point Area Schools. It advances learning opportunities for students directly on their school grounds and helps them learn more about stewardship, soil health, water quality, and biodiversity. These gardens provide on-site learning opportunities for students to “step outside and into learning.” Native gardens provide many benefits for these schools, including:

Student, Samuel Totzke, created the SPASH Garden Design and plant layout.

• improving groundwater infiltration

• preventing flooding

• increasing aesthetics at schools

• supporting pollinators

• improving soil health and quality

• increasing biodiversity

• providing learning opportunities about important conservation issues

The awarded schools received a free installation of a native prairie or rain garden and direct support for up to 18 months. The program leveraged connections to community resources and several non-profit organizations in the area to help install the gardens and secure long-term support in garden maintenance. Although minimal, annual weeding and garden clean-up helps maintain a well-balanced native garden.

Each school received a minimum of 500 native plants. Several schools leveraged additional support to extend their gardens. In the end, 630 students, staff, and volunteers planted over 4,000 native plants across 6 school gardens in Stevens Point. Each school has a designated “Garden Ambassador” to help maintain the long-term health of the garden.

Are you ready for a garden tour? Visit these six schools in Stevens Point to enjoy the

blooms all summer and into the fall:

• Stevens Point Area Senior High (1201 North Point Dr, Stevens Point, WI 54481, west entrance by the commons area)

• Ben Franklin Jr High (2000 Polk St, Stevens Point, WI 54481, west of the horseshoe driveway)

• Point of Discovery School (1900 W Zinda Dr, Stevens Point, WI 54481, by the school sign)

• PJ Jacob Jr High (2400 Main St, Stevens Point, WI 54481, corner of Main St. and Michigan Ave.)

• McKinley Elementary (2926 Blaine St, Stevens Point, WI 54481, northeast corner of the school)

• Madison Elementary (600 Maria Dr, Stevens Point, WI 54481, in the horseshoe area)

Although, not part of this garden cohort, but has a very nice native garden is McDill Elementary located at 2516 School St, Stevens Point, WI in the Village of Whiting.

We want to thank the following community partners for their support, volunteerism, and contributions to this program, big and small:

• City of Stevens Point Public Utilities (base funding support)

• Wild Ones of Central Wisconsin

• Portage County Conservation Office

• UW-Stevens Point Extension Lakes

• North Central Conservation Trust

• Portage County Master Gardeners

• Golden Sands RC&D Council

• Portage County Solid Waste Department

• Boston School Forest

For more information, visit www.recyclingconnections.org/schoolgarden.