East Aurora Advertiser

Waldorf School Plans Wildlife Meadow


While Aurora Waldorf School students and teachers are continuing their lessons remotely, the school marked the 50th anniversary of Earth Day with a new “green” project. 

The school will transform its large front lawn of mowed grass into a natural meadow and pollinator habitat, to attract butterflies, birds, insects, and other wildlife.

The school will transform its front lawn of mowed grass into a natural meadow and pollinator habitat to attract butterflies, birds, insects, and other wildlife.

Plans are underway to introduce local ecotype grasses, wildflowers, and shrubs, including nectar and food plants like WNY-specific milkweed, and allowing the native species already present to flourish. On-site work will begin in late summer and fall of 2020, with heavy mulching and winding pathways created through the meadow-to-be. Native seed mixes, perennial seedlings, and shrubs will be planted in spring 2021. An outdoor classroom area will allow for hands-on learning, in keeping with the Waldorf curriculum’s focus on environmental responsibility and respect for nature.

In this time of social distancing, an ecological restoration project can be healing and collaborative, involving students, teachers, parents, and the broader community, to bring the worthy goals of Earth Day into everyday life.

For more information, contact Bill Michalek, a school board member, and naturalist, at billmarkm@yahoo.com.

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