York County elementary students will soon have a chance to interact with nature in a new way, as they work with teachers to attract butterflies, insects and birds.
Teachers from across the division gathered at Grafton Middle School on Jan. 28 to learn about cultivating butterfly gardens. Their gardens will be designed to invite butterflies – specifically monarchs – to stop and stay a while.
The York County Monarch Initiative is a collaboration between the Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners, Virginia Master Naturalists and the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, along with York County and Poquoson schools. It’s supported by several grants, including a $6,000 grant for the project from the Virginia Environmental Endowment and funding from the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The project has been coordinated by Barb Dunbar, a York County Schools teacher, and Jody Turner, a master gardener.
The gardens will serve as outdoor classrooms where kids can learn as they sink their fingers into the soil. The possible learning opportunities seem endless; they could learn about photosynthesis, the lives of butterflies, monarch migration patterns, the food chain, soil, bird-watching and weather. Art classes could go outside to sketch, while lessons in poetry could be conducted under the sun. Eventually, students will contribute entries to a Monarch Initiative blog and a fine arts exhibition.
But before teachers could draft lesson plans, they had to learn the basics about butterfly gardens. In their professional development, they sat in break-out sessions, learning about the lives of monarchs, insects common in butterfly gardens, tree identification, bird-watching and even studied land use maps. Much of what they learned about plants and animals connects to the Standards of Learning tested by the state.
They also learned about the all-important native plants butterflies just can’t resist, including milkweed, a perennial plant containing a milky juice that feeds monarchs. It’s topped with lovely pink flowers, but people rarely plant it because it’s a weed, said Carol Heiser, habitat education coordinator for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Her agency will provide the plants for the gardens.
The gardens will be planted in April or May, with assistance from volunteering Master Gardeners and/or Naturalists. Along with teacher and parent volunteers, the gardeners and naturalists will tend the gardens in the summer when school is out of session. Heiser said they might even decide to coordinate a day camp to invite students to work in the garden.
A dedicated mentorship team of gardeners and naturalists has been assigned to each school, where one to three teachers will serve as Designated Monarch Initiative Teachers. They already helped prep the teachers at the Jan. 28 training sessions. Next, they’ll assist with prepping the land and the planting. The teachers will lead the project, but will have the outreach partners for support. In the fall, at least one classroom per school will raise monarchs to be tagged and released.
The entire initiative is an example of how collaboration between the community and schools can be hugely beneficial. I was impressed by the amount of thought and preparation that went into the planning for the gardens, which will not only engage students, but provide a needed habitat for monarchs. Their gardens will also be registered as Monarch Waystations, places that provide the resources needed for the butterflies to reproduce.
Film Festival Hosts Youth Art Event
The William & Mary Global Film Festival will invite people of all ages to make art together during its free Art of Youth event on Saturday.
The event will be an interactive art studio that combines art and motion. It will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Williamsburg Community Building. It follows the family-friendly screenings of the Japanese film, “My Neighbor Totoro” and “The Goonies,” at 1 p.m. in the Kimball Theatre.
With ten gallons of tempera paint and 40 yards of canvass, participants will be able to translate the acts of skateboarding, cycling and dancing into paintings. “It will be fun to watch and fun to do,” said Film Festival Director Tim Barnard in a press release.
Throughout the event, the festival’s video production team will capture the artistic process. The videos will then become art pieces, displayed at the festival’s gallery exhibit the following weekend.
The final artworks will be given a gallery opening at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 17 in Andrews Hall on W&M’s campus following the final film screening of the festival, “Le Tableau,” an animated French film about life inside an oil painting.
The city of Williamsburg partnered with the college to present the Art Studio, which Mayor Clyde Haulman said is a perfect way to support art in the city.
The 2013 Global Film Festival’s theme, “Film and Youth,” has engaged local young people in the process of filmmaking.
WCA Musicians are London-Bound Next Year
Williamsburg Christian Academy’s High School String Orchestra will visit London in June 2014 to perform at the World Strides Heritage Music Festival.
WorldStrides Heritage Performance coordinates music and performance opportunities for student enrichment, including festivals, bowl games and parades. WCA’s students will participate in a workshop at the Royal Academy of Music, perform at a master class and give concerts in local cathedrals. Seven students, accompanied by four adults, will go on the 10-day trip.
