Growing Biodiversity: How Native Plants Can Transform Our Schoolyards

 

Good Evening and Welcome to Growin' with Mackenzie. I'm excited to share my Genius Hour Journey with you. This is a growing space where I'll be exploring the new ideas and big questions and hopefully inspiring other to think different about the amazing world of pollinators and native plants around us. 

When you picture a schoolyard, you might see wide-open sports fields, a few scattered trees, some paved walkways, and maybe a playground or two. But what if we could reimagine these familiar spaces as thriving ecosystems—places teeming with life, not just for students, but for birds, pollinators, insects, and even the tiny organisms living in the soil? That’s the inspiring question I’m digging into for my Genius Hour project: How can planting native plants in schoolyards support biodiversity?

I chose this topic because I care deeply about the environment and wanted to make a difference in beautifying our schoolyard. I’ve always loved spending time outside and learning about how plants and animals work together. When I started the job I’m currently in, I began to understand more about the alarming decline in pollinators and the important role we play in supporting them and enhancing their habitats. This project is a chance for me to turn that knowledge into action, teach others about the importance of pollinators and native plants, and show just how simple and impactful it can be by designing a new garden for the school yard.

Biodiversity the variety of life in a particular area is essential for a healthy ecosystem. Unfortunately, many schoolyards are covered with non-native grasses or concrete, which don’t offer much for local pollinators. Native plants, however, evolved alongside local species and provide the food, shelter, and habitat that birds, bees, butterflies, and other creatures need to survive. 

Monarch on a milkweed

For example, milkweed is a native plant that serves as the only host for monarch butterflies to lay their eggs. By including milkweed in a school garden, students can  help save a species at risk And it’s not just insects—native shrubs and trees can support birds with berries in winter and places to nest in spring.

Through this project, I want to discover how our own school yard can be part of the solution how a patch of native flowers or a corner garden of shrubs can turn our grounds into a thriving micro-habitat. 

So, can planting native plants in schoolyards really support biodiversity? 

References

Routledge, R.(n.d) Monarch on milkweed [Online Image]. Retrieved from https://www.forestryimages.org/browse/image/5552998