Native Wildflower Meadow: Educating Young Minds & Regenerating Biodiversity
South Mountain Preserve is literally seeding new ideas and educating a tomorrow for our special part of the planet.
Wildlands’ preserve managers are underway with establishing a 3.3-acre native wildflower meadow in the northwest area of South Mountain Preserve, near the Wilderness Trail. Not only will the wildflower meadow provide sustenance to native pollinators and a home for wildlife, but it beautifies the natural area with flowers blooming at various times of the year.
The meadow provides an outdoor classroom to the students of one Mrs. Kneller, a biology teacher with Emmaus High School who’s bridging community, conservation, and hands-on learning through Wildands Conservancy.
The students involved in the project are Laura Kershner and Mason Roselli. Both are high school seniors in Mrs. Kneller’s AP Biology class. Kershner’s history with Wildlands includes frequenting our preserves both with school and on her own for walks and to practice photography. Roselli is being introduced to our preserves through this project.
Under the guidance of preserve manager Michael Hock, the students recently helped clean up the grassy meadow to prepare the area for wildflower seeds.
Their experience with the project takes textbook environmental science to the level of real-world learning, introducing them to ideas that they wouldn’t have likely explored on their own. The meadow project readily complements Kneller’s curriculum on protecting biodiversity, ecosystem services, land use, and conservation.
“The land [meadow] will be quite beneficial to the community in the future– (aesthetically, recreationally, and ecologically),” Kershner said, having learned more about the importance of land preservation and restoration. “I think I will feel happy to see the meadow in a better state in the future.”
This is one of many projects that Kneller facilitates beyond the formal walls of classroom learning, connecting students to environmental initiatives as near as their backyard, punctuating yet another benefit of protected open spaces like South Mountain Preserve.
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Native Wildflower Meadow: Educating Young Minds & Regenerating BiodiversitySouth Mountain Preserve is literally seeding new ideas and educating a tomorrow for our special part of the planet. Wildlands’ preserve managers are underway with establishing a 3.3-acre native wildflower meadow in the northwest area of South Mountain Preserve, near the Wilderness Trail. Not only will the wildflower meadow provide sustenance to native pollinators and a home for wildlife, but […]