As a student in the Heronwood Nature Center, Zoe Alkire saw an opportunity to impact the environment right here at school. She attended the Nature Center for two hours a day during her junior year, one of only two students who get to attend this program from Otsego. They spend the time studying various units in environmental science and biology. 

When it was time to create her own project, she was drawn to a pollinator garden. “Many pollinator populations are declining due to climate change and pesticide use, so this garden is designed to provide both a food source for pollinators as well as the milkweed that monarchs need for reproduction,” she explains. She knew about a garden a former teacher started about 25 years ago, “I wanted to try to bring that back to help all pollinators, but especially monarchs. It was too overgrown in that area, so we started fresh in a new location, next to the bus garage,” Alkire says. 

She researched types of plants that are native to this area as well as good nectar sources/pollinators. She planted native grasses, milkweed, native flowering plants including grey-headed coneflower, black-eyed Susan and false sunflower. She planted about 400 seedlings in May and about two-thirds of them survived. “When it gets colder, around October, we will plant seeds that will come up in the spring to add to what’s already growing,” she explains. Recently Mr. Alkire’s (her dad) STREAM students collected ironwood seeds (a native flowering plant) to also go in the garden along with additional milkweed seeds.

The garden will require tending, mostly in the form of weeding, for a couple more years until it fills in. After that, it will be self sustaining, with some possible minor upkeep. “I’m hoping that after a year or two, once the garden has matured, the nature-based preschool as well as other classes can use it to study pollinators.” The other classes could include Environment Science, STREAM, and biology. With more people involved it can be an educational source for generations to come.