Students work in Lawton Park

(This article was written By Magnolia Voice intern Sarah Storm)

Students from Lawton Elementary School, partnering with volunteer stewards, are making a big difference at Lawton Park.  Recently the kids from the school worked to move mulch and do some planting. 

Six classes of students, ranging from second to fifth grade, took shifts throughout the day to aid volunteer steward, Barbara Downward, in beautifying the boundaries and controlling invasive plants along the tree line.

The students worked hard to move the mulch, helping to shovel it into buckets and wheelbarrows, and then carry it to the far corners of the tree line. Excited to be a part of the work, the third-grade students of Shirley Rybock?s class cheered throughout their time at the park, shouting ?strong women!? and ?powerful men!? as they helped the stewards spread the mulch.

The work gets the students involved in the stewardship of the park.  According to Downward, mulch is a great material for them to work with.  ?It?s a clean material, so they can shovel around in it, kick it around, carry it,? she added, ?We?ve mostly been right at the edge of the trees, because we?re trying to respect the bird nesting season and that kind of stuff. We?ve had a couple of two-person bucket brigades to carry behind the shrubs.?

The mulch that the student worked with helps the surrounding soil to retain moisture and mediate soil temperature. A very slow-acting fertilizer, mulch improves the quality of the soil and suppresses weeds.

The partnership between Lawton Elementary and the stewards of Lawton Park began in 2008 with Downward and Lyon Terry, a second-grade teacher at the school.  ?We were thinking about projects we could do that were hands on and the kids were actually involved,? said Terry, ?Not just talking about it and making posters, but actually doing something to help the earth. I heard about Barbara and her need for volunteers, and I was like, ?I?ve got labor!??

Parents were encouraged to come and volunteer with their students. According to Cindi Grass, mother to one of Terry?s second-grade students, Terry is a great example to the kids.  ?They come home, and they are excited to work in the garden. They know about what to do and how to cut the plants. Now they?re going to know about mulching,? Grass said.