Earth Month Contest

By:

Dooley celebrated Earth Month in a BIG way!  We rounded up tons of volunteers, both student and parent, to take on the challenge of beautifying and oxygenating our campus.  Student council voted on what types of Texas-native flowers, plants and shrubs they wanted to plant, and where they wanted to plant them...that's when the fun began!

We started by digging out a huge area around the flag pole in front of the school.  The area was then filled with organic dirt, to keep our campus free of unnecessary pesticides.  The kids had a blast out in the fresh air, using their muscles to dig holes with the shovels.  After the flowers, plants and shrubs were planted, we covered the new soil with organic mulch to keep it protected.

The next project was to build six raised herb gardens made from cedar; one for each class, K-5.  Ten kids from each grade were randomly selected to plant the different herbs for different grades.  As we were planting, we talked about how the plants thrive on sun, soil, and water, and also the benefits of growing our own organic food in organic soil.  The kids loved the sensory experience of smelling and tasting the herbs from each garden box.  Every day at recess, kids from each grade, are picked to water and maintain the gardens.  The sense of ownership they have from planting and maintaining their little creations is priceless!

Because we really wanted to go ALL OUT for Earth Month, we then planted FIFTEEN new Crepe Myrtle trees to beautify and oxygenate the campus. 

Though it was a lot of hard work, it was an amazing experience for the kids and parents to come together, doing something incredible, not only for the school, but the environment as well.  We, Dooley Dragons are really proud of the work we accomplished, and hope you consider us for your Earth Month contest!

Thanks to the following for their donations...we couldn't have done it without you!

Todd and Gina Killion * Lowe’s * Home Depot * Classic Garden’s * Calloway’s Nursery * Living Earth * Texas Pure