Did you have some goals with this habitat project?
The purpose of this project is to enhance the beauty of the school grounds while creating habitat for native insects, especially monarch butterflies, as well as other animals, and providing educational opportunities for Mill Creek students.
Aerial view of MCMS with the two planting sites highlighted.
Timeline
- Late May 2025 Iris' volunteers began installing the native plants. Mostly Community Service and Leadership Junior Advisors were involved after in these after school plantings.
- Early June 2025 installation continued by the Ecological Restoration Class at Mill Creek Middle School
- Summer 2025 gardens watered as needed by Iris E. and parents. The early summer was wet enough so there wasn't much need for manual watering.
- Late 2025 and into the future Monitoring of the installation areas by the Ecological Restoration students.
MCMS Ecological Restoration Class
What were your successes or challenges you encountered?
There was a great turnout of volunteers, which is a success. We also were able to plant more than anticipated, another area of the school yard that is seasonally wet got some new plants added to it. Some of the challenges were there was a lot more teasel to remove than we had anticipated in order to plant the new natives. Also the soil was rather clay-like, which made it difficult to plant some of the plugs in a neat and tidy manner.
What are the plans for future maintenance or use?
We will keep the areas marked to prevent mowing by the school district grounds crew. Also the Ecological Restoration classes in the fall and spring at MCMS will continue to monitor the areas and remove invasive plants and weeds to give the natives an advantage for survival.