Mi Escuelita Spanish Immersion Preschool

LWS has an on-going partnership with Mi Escuelita, a Spanish-immersion preschool in Chapel Hill. Thanks to all the parents who helped us install a combined vegetable/pollinator garden for the school in 2021! Students have been able to plant and harvest a number of vegetables each spring and fall since then, including potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, and pumpkins. The garden includes a number of non-edible native plant species as well, and students raise monarch butterflies from eggs found on the common milkweed. The children always alternate between giggles and shrieks as butterflies crawl up their arms, bellies, and noses before flying away on release day. Students have been able to observe other wildlife in the garden over the years too - an eastern box turtle, lizards, and even a nest of Carolina wrens!

Frank Porter Graham Elementary School

Students at FPG worked with LWS to plant a native garden on school grounds in the spring of 2024, converting an abandoned section of compacted dirt into a riot of color thanks to species such as narrow-leaved sunflower, wild bergamot, and little bluestem. Taking caterpillars from the garden's common milkweed, students then raised monarchs this fall from egg to butterfly, releasing the adults into their new pollinator garden. 

Carrboro Elementary School

Students at CES worked with LWS to plant a native garden on school grounds in the spring of 2024, revitalizing three abandoned raised beds into thriving native gardens. Taking caterpillars from the garden's common milkweed, students then raised monarchs this fall from egg to butterfly, releasing the adults into their new pollinator garden. Students also worked with LWS to start a garden club at the school this fall. Their first project was a native plant sensory garden on the patio outside the school social worker's office. This project was requested by the social worker, who wanted a calm space to bring children needing to regulate their emotions. The students are continuing to add to the space, currently working on a log path and planting beds that lead to the patio.

Grow Your World Afterschool Program

Students enrolled with GYW's after school program are working with LWS to reimagine the outdoor space on their program's campus. They've been assembling raised beds and filling them in anticipation of starting a vegetable garden in the spring. They'll be planting fruit trees and berry bushes once winter arrives. And they'll soon start slowly converting sections of the lawn into gardens full of species native to the Piedmont.