Late in November, something quietly powerful took root at East Cooper Montessori Charter School. As part of the school’s year-long Peace Project initiative, students and staff joined forces to install a native plant garden — more than 500 plants strong — each one selected for both beauty and ecological purpose.
Come spring, this thoughtfully designed garden will provide essential habitat and food for monarch butterflies, pollinators and countless other creatures often overlooked in our fast-moving world. In the winter, it will offer seeds for birds and shelter for wildlife. All year long, it will selflessly help restore soil health, manage stormwater and support our fragile ecosystem, while serving as a living, breathing lesson in environmental stewardship.
This wasn’t a garden made for the students; it was built with them. With hands in the dirt and eyes wide with curiosity, students helped bring learning to life, blending Montessori values of observation, responsibility and deep connection to the natural world.
The native landscape was designed by Deidre Kennedy of Leaf Design Studio, a parent at the school. Volunteers from Green Neighborhoods Work partnered with dedicated staff and enthusiastic students to make the project a reality.
Native plants do quiet but essential work. They feed butterflies, birds and bees. They build resilience into our landscapes. And now, they’re helping raise a generation that understands environmental care begins at home, and in this case, just outside the classroom door.
This spring, the garden will bloom in ways both visible and unseen. And for our community, it stands as a reminder that meaningful conservation doesn’t always require sweeping change; sometimes, it starts by simply planting the right things, in the right place, together.
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