“Because of you I think I am more interested about the things around us,” Fatima responded after being asked what she had gained from taking part in the Green City Youth program.
The students of Penn Alexander Middle School, with the aid of their teachers Rich Staniec and Michelle Dixon, decided that their Earth Force project would be to create a habitat garden on the school grounds. After paying a visit to the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum with the rest of the Green City Youth participants and seeing various types of birds, the students thought it would be a great idea to plant various types of plants which attracted birds. One of the students, Litia Deng, said that, her favorite part of the project was, “cleaning out the weeds and putting mulch in our garden. I also liked to dig holes for the new plants and fill them with soil. I saw a big difference in a place full of weeds from a nice garden full of flowers and little trees. Thank you for helping us turn our garden into a nice place.”
The students set to work, doing their own planning and research. Their guest speaker, local expert Eva Montime, spoke to the students about how to attract various types of birds to a garden. The students agreed that the project was a great opportunity for them to learn about plants and green space.