Wednesday, April 22nd, was the annual Earth Day extravaganza in the Wildcat garden at Our Redeemer Lutheran School! As part of Earth Day each year, the students—age 2 through 6th grade-- released ladybugs into our garden as a form of eco-friendly, organic pest control. We released over 15,000 ladybugs! In addition, fresh cut herbs and veggies were sold to support the garden fund. This year we added a special project: the students began constructing a Monet masterpiece out of plastic bottle caps to hang on our cinder block wall outside. The piece will replicate Monet's "Garden at Argenteuil (The Dahlias)." This serves as a fantastic example of how to re-purpose everyday items into a thing of beauty for all to enjoy, instead of just discarding them into the trash.
Amanda Schulz and Susan Cooper, Wildcat Garden Co-Chairs put it this way: “It is a fun time for the kids and a reminder of how we can serve to be better stewards of God's planet that he has entrusted to us.
The next day, in keeping with Earth Day, the school welcomed Apprentice Bee Keeper Jerry Alcorn to do his presentation on bees for 1st through 6th grades.
Sixth grader Leila says they “learned about the different kinds of bees, the inner workings of the hive, and pollination.”
Max and Joseph added, "We learned that drones get kicked out of the hive by the females during the winter--and they die. And Africanized bees are dangerously aggressive."
The fun concluded with a delicious “build your own ladybug” cupcake affair, and a good, environmentally friendly time was truly had by all!