Tuesday afternoon, I biked along the river to meet up with WEN for the to go teach the fourth and fifth graders of Sussex Elementary School about invasive weeds, and native plants. Even though it was a rainy, gloomy day, we arrived at the greenhouse near Fort Missoula to a group of happy, energetic kids. Leah Grunzke, of the Montana Natural History Museum was already busy telling the kids all about weeds that are invasive in the Missoula area, and answering their questions.
After the students (who had decided to go by the name the Hilarious Hedgehogs-why not?) shared some great stories and observations about weeds, we all climbed on the little Sussex bus and went over to the Nature Adventure Teaching Garden to see a native plant garden in action.
The students had become familiar with most of the invasive plants that now make up the area around Missoula in our previous trip to the loading dock and path area near the Osprey field. There, the students had split into groups, and with the help of WEN’s plant expert, Jesse Dwyer, WEN’s director, Josh Gubits, a few of WEN’sother staff members and volunteers, and the student’s teacher, Pam Ward, the students all were assigned plants to seek out and identify. Once the students had spotted their plants, they had to sketch them, and describe aspects of the plant so that they could teach their fellow classmates all about it. After each group shared a bit of information about their assigned weed, they got to see some examples of aquatic invasive weeds and hear about the effects of these weeds and how they might be spread. This really was a great way to introduce the students to the idea of sustaining a natural garden in the high desert area that we live in, and why native plants are so important to keep around.
Back at the Nature Adventure Teaching Garden with Leah, the students got to better understand the benefits of a natural garden, from the reduced need of water, to the benefits for the wildlife in the area (especially birds). Leah now gave the “Hilarious Hedgehogs” their assignment, they were to explore the garden and find one plant that they thought was interesting that they could tell their classmates about. Immediately, some students ran up the small mound in the middle of the garden, some ran to the far end of the garden, and most ran to the giant hollow cotton tree that they had been anxiously eyeing since they first entered the garden. Five or ten minutes later, the group was called together, and some kids shared their favorite parts of the garden, and others shared what plants they found. One little girl in particular had found a Penstemon that was still in bloom!
The students climbed back onto the bus with a little more knowledge of the world around them, and it feels amazing to have been a small part of that. That’s why I can’t wait to return work with and learn alongside the Hilarious Hedgehogs of Sussex Elementary. Soon we’ll be hard at work on our own Native Plant Garden along the Clark Fork right in front of the WEN offices!
-Katie Foster
Katie Foster is a stellar WEN volunteer and a student at the University of Montana
