Monarch Way Station: The Circle of Life

High School biology club measuring the progress of the chrysalis and cucumber plant.

We are so proud of our school community garden! We were able to provide an environment to house two Monarch chrysalises this fall. Unfortunately, the butterflies never progressed to the point of metamorphosis, but simply having caterpillars in the garden is a huge step of our Monarch Way Station! Several factors can affect the success of a chrysalis: stress, predators, and climate. The recent cold snap in Montgomery likely contributed to the stunting of the chrysalis’s development. Humidity, wind, and temperature are all factors that make the growing environment safe or unsafe for caterpillars.

One of the two chrysalises after the recent cold snap in Montgomery.

Kindergarteners, sixth graders, and high school Biology Club students were some of the groups measuring and taking note of the daily progress. Students visited the garden to track the growth (or lack thereof) and made predictions based on the scientific method. The cucumber plant, that started out small, has been thriving and producing cucumbers that were harvested and enjoyed by some Kindergarten students. We will continue to outfit the garden with Monarch friendly plants to encourage more butterfly visitors during the next migration! #wearesaintjamesschool

Make Way for Monarchs!

Pre-K3 students exploring the STJ Monarch Waystation.

We have exciting news at the school garden- it makes our hearts flutter! Several months ago, we planted milkweed in the Kindergarten bed of the community garden. Milkweed plants are vital to the life cycle of butterflies, as they produce a necessary nectar that these insects need for reproduction. Each fall, hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies migrate from the United States and Canada to central Mexico. In order to make this long journey, the butterflies have to actually lay eggs along the way. A special habitat is needed for the amazing metamorphosis process to happen successfully. These environments are called “Monarch Waystations.”

Mrs. Elizabeth Harber, Saint James Community Garden Coordinator, has been carefully monitoring our school’s Waystation and discovered some very exciting activity. She, along with one of our Pre-K classes, found some caterpillars on our milkweed plants. These caterpillars were in the larva stage getting ready to build a cocoon. A few days later, she found two cocoons in the pupa stage, called chrysalises. We are now waiting for these to emerge into beautiful Monarchs! Many of our elementary students have been following along and studying the lifecycle of butterflies. Saint James School is excited to be part of the the great monarch migration!

A pH Cabbage Patch

Mrs. Courtney Whigham and a cabbage harvested from the Saint James School Community Garden

Mrs. Whigham’s Advanced 8th grade physical science class used cabbages grown in the STJ Community Garden to conduct an experiment to measure pH levels. Did you know red cabbage contains a pH indicator pigment called flavin? This water-soluble pigment is also found in other foods like apple skin, red onion skin, plums, blueberries, and grapes. Students boiled cabbage leaves in water to make a juice to indicate the pH levels of common household items.

Students made hypotheses about what household items would be the most acidic and basic. Items like lemon juice, vinegar, hand sanitizer, bottled water, baking soda, and milk were tested and recorded in lab journals. When mixed with the cabbage juice, very acidic solutions turned red in color. Neutral solutions result in a purplish color. Basic solutions make a greenish-yellow or yellow color.

#WeAreSaintJamesSchool

At STJ, students make connections between their lessons and labs in the classroom with real-world applications.  In this case, students harvested their own cabbages from the school’s Community Garden while also using natural and organic materials to conduct their lab.

Mrs. Whigham especially loves lab days, as relating lab experiments to everyday life and the world around us makes the classes more fun. The tools and equipment are excellent precursors to the types of experiments these students will conduct in high school and beyond. #WeAreSaintJamesSchool

More Than A Garden

by: Jeremy Turner, Community Garden Co-Coordinator

The Paideia School in Atlanta, GA

This fall, Saint James garden co-coordinator Carissa Gibbons, middle school principal Dr. Shelaine Taylor, and I traveled to Atlanta to visit the Paideia School. The purpose of our trip was to tour their farm and see how they were able to use their farming and gardening areas to enhance the curriculum taught at their school. This trip also helped us see what ideas and methods we as STJ faculty could incorporate into our own garden at school.

Our farm tour guide was Tania Herbert, a 20 year teaching veteran. She was able to make the farm a place where both students and the community could work together. She explained how sustainable farming was the key to the continuation of a community as well as offering skills to others that could be implemented into their own daily living.

gardening tools at Paideia’s on-campus garden

One thing that we saw at the school was how the farm not only helped others, but also worked with the community to bring in foods and items that were shared across the board with those outside of the school. They kept track of what they grew, how much was harvested, and how much was donated to others within their shared garden storage. They had on-site refrigerators to store any crops that were harvested and planned to be given out to the community.

We also learned how the school utilized the farm in their curriculums. For example, Paideia’s AP Biology students raise a chicken and as part of their final exam, students process the chicken utilizing the information they learned while going through the course.

Ms. Gibbons and Mr. Turner, Saint James Community Garden Coordinators, with Paideia’s goats on their school farm

One thing that was heavily stressed was the link with the community on the farm. Mrs. Herbert discussed how they worked with food-insecure communities as well as local prisons to assist in distributing healthy foods. She discussed how many in their region may not have good access to nutritional, healthy food so she wanted to find a way to help them learn their own growing skills but also turn around and donate the food to others who might also be in need.

They also invited children from nearby local schools to plant and engage in the process of growing food. Everything about their farm and garden was about working together to ensure that whenever things were left to the next generation, they would have items in place to continue this wonderful endeavor.

We are excited to evaluate the wealth of knowledge shared with us and work to implement new initiates with our own community garden. We are in the early stages of our garden journey, but we know Saint James School has the potential to “grow” our program to be just as impactful.

#WeAreSaintJamesSchool