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Work under way on Dobbins Nature Trail
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Neighbors | Sarah Foor .Kathy Vrable-Bryan, district manager for the Mahoning County Water Conservation District, visited the students of Dobbins on May 10 to discuss the aspects of a healthy garden and help them plan their own Dobbins Nature Trail.
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On June 6, work was underway on planting flowers for the butterfly garden in the Dobbins Nature Trail. Fourth-graders Olivia Morgan (left) and Marlie McConnell helped to move fresh soil to the garden.
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Cara Maze helped smooth out the sand in the Nature Trail's animal tracks station on June 6.
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Dobbins students were involved in the project from planning to planting. Getting their hands dirty on June 6 were fourth-graders Ethan Ferguson (left), Olivia Barrett, Jeremy Castro, and Chelsea Kilgore.
By SARAH FOOR
Stretching along the border of the Dobbins Elementary School grounds, there is a growing area developed for raised gardening, bird feeding, animal tracks observation, and a butterfly and hummingbird garden. This space, officially known as the Dobbins Nature Trail, will provide outdoor learning experiences for generations of Dobbins students.
The slow growth of the project began when Dobbins students created raised gardening and nature observation areas in the space over the last two years. However, thanks to grants received from the Ohio Division of Wildlife, fundraising efforts, donations and a partnership with the Mahoning Soil and Water Conservation District, the next phase of the project was underway with the addition of the space’s butterfly garden.
On May 10, principal Cheryl Borovitcky invited MSWCD district administrator Kathi Vrable-Bryan to educate the fourth-grade students in the basics of horticulture and landscape design. With their new knowledge, the students designed the placement of flowers in their butterfly garden.
A month later, by June 6, construction was well under way on the trail, with birdhouses finished and frames for the butterfly garden placed. Fourth-graders joined Vrable-Bryan to start spreading topsoil and planting their garden how they had planned.
The garden will take years to grow to its full potential, but the June 6 planting of milkweed and black-eyed susans will provide a nice place for Ohio butterflies and hummingbirds to rest.
“We hope to make this an official Monarch Butterfly Way station, as butterflies choose Dobbins as a spot to rest on their long journeys,” Borovitcky shared of plans for the Nature Trail.
Even with the space not finished, Dobbins families are already invested in its future. Third-graders are planning to make butterfly houses for next year, and families have volunteered to water and tend to the space throughout the summer.
Fourth-grader Sophia Thompson and her family will be the first helpers, as she waters the garden from June 19 to 25.
“I wanted to help because I had so much fun planting the milkweed for the butterflies to visit. I’m really excited to see the garden grow,” Thompson shared.