This
summer, we launched the pilot of Meadowscaping
for Biodiversity, an outdoor, environmental education program for youth, on
the east lawn of Christ Church Episcopal, 750 Main Street, Waltham, MA.
Meadowscaping is simple in its vision for the next
generation and elegant in its solution for their
earth.
Our vision is to inspire and empower youth to be stewards of the earth while teaching them
how to heal her one meadow at a
time.
Our
solution, (using a curriculum built on project-based learning), is to transform
sections of monoculture lawns into biodiverse meadows that provide food and
shelter – habitat – for bees, butterflies, birds and other wildlife.
These
meadows contain native plants and shrubs, sources of the essential diet/breeding
ground that native species of insects and pollinators are challenged to find in
urban developments and landscapes overrun with nonnative and invasive plants.
Here’s
a picture:
Our meadow is not an abandoned lot filled
with tall grasses and runaway vegetation.
Rather, it is a beautiful sunny garden.
here:
It also soothes the soul in the midst of a
busy spot in Waltham. Yes, this
meadow is just across the street from the public library, a few paces from the
post office, a UPS store, cafes, the local Boys and Girls Club, and an active
Yoga studio. Being along the main commuter route and abutting an active bus
stop, this special garden garnered a lot of thumbs up, “what a beauty” “glad
you did this” and “now I understand” from passersby.
Best of all, this spot is a place of pride
for our students, who, every time they pass or stop in to water and measure the
plants, exclaim “that’s our meadow.”
So how did we do this? In this blog, we’ll
share some highlights from the 2014 Meadowmakers:
Barbara, Jean, Steve, Omar, Adam, Alessio, Lisa, Julie, Jim and Laura.
