Fletcher Middle School - Jacksonville, Florida

Description

This project got started when Surfrider-First Coast Chapter Ocean Friendly Garden Chair, Paul Hayden, got a request from Fletcher Middle School Art Teacher, Chris Hicks (in Jacksonville Beach, Florida). Chris needed help turning three garden spots at the School into “Ocean Friendly Butterfly Gardens.” Chris had been thinking of doing a garden project and heard about how well-received Paul's previous talks were (click here for a blog post about a talk).

The project was completed over three days, with a donation for materials from the First Coast Chapter, the oversight and assistance from Chris, the hard work of over 300 of his art students, and invaluable time and expertise from Donnie Pellicer of Native Roots Landscape and Design of Jacksonville.
First, Paul educated the students about the mission of the Surfrider Foundation and the tenets of the OFG Program. It was refreshing to see just how interested and inquisitive the students were and how hard and cheerfully they worked.

Then, the site was transformed:

Conservation - Donnie chose all Florida native plants, which will also attract beautiful butterflies. As a matter of fact, no sooner than the plants had arrived then a butterfly found its host plant and settled in.
Permeability - Soil was un-compacted, then the kids removed mulch that was not ocean friendly and replaced it with natural pine straw.
Retention - All of the irrigation for the plants will come from rain and run off. There are low points in each garden to help slow down and absorb runoff.

The school will handle the maintenance for the most part, but Donnie and Paul told Chris they would be available for help and advice where needed.