Carter's Water Garden

Saturday, April 25 th was a BIG day for the Students and Teachers at  East Intermediate School! My crew at Carter’s Nursery, Pond and Patio met Students, Parents and Faculty to help them construct a Water Garden/Out-door Classroom on their school grounds. We asked for volunteers to please bring a shovel and a hard rake, to remember their hat, gloves, comfortable shoes and Sun Block, AND to be ready for a fun filled day of HARD WORK!

We got  started at 8:00 a.m.  and over 20 students and many of their parents and friends, including some local Pond Club members came out to help!

This Living, Outdoor classroom will inspire and enrich the lives of so many young people for years to come! It will be a teaching aid for everything from Science and Biology to Art and Ecology.

Most kids just love getting their hands in the dirt, taking part in creating something, or just doing something different! This Ponds for Kids experience offered them a little bit of everything! They took part in designing and planning the pond, and with some guidance,  worked with tools, placed rocks and gravel, installed filtration media and planted aquatic plants. The opportunities for learning from this new Eco-System are endless and more importantly, they earned  a feeling of accomplishment at the end of the day for a “JOB” WELL DONE, which is Priceless!

Research shows that children who have POSITIVE interactions with nature grow into adults who really care about their environment. This interactive environment is a perfect way to let kids discover the reality of nature and feel that they have a responsibility to it and that they can make a difference regardless of their age or size. The only limit is the imagination. Here are a few examples of how this new Outdoor Classroom will enhance the curriculum:

Science – microscopic world to ecosystem function

Language Arts – reading and writing as interpreted through the setting

Social Studies – human impact on the environment

Art – expressing the natural environment in a variety of media from Sketches to Photography to anything you can imagine

Math – quantifying data

Whether living in the city or in the county, all kids deserve a chance to interact with the world of nature. Ponds for Kids will help instill a love for the environment with this generation NOW and for generations to come.

By helping us with this project we are building the foundation of the next generations love for the environment by creating an interactive habitat filled with the potential to change young lives.

Please give us a call if you are interested in helping with the care of this new Pond OR if you would like to find out how to get involved in this Wonderful program. 

Thanks ,

      – Mark Carter