AHWAHNEE — Students at Wasuma Elementary School got a little dirt under their fingernails recently when they enjoyed two special event days celebrating all the goodness that goes with terra firma.
For Earth Day last month, students learned about vermaculture, composting and pollination, and planted in the garden, with the help of Mariposa and Madera Master Gardeners who taught classes all day. In addition, the students played a twister-type game and repurposed bowling balls into garden art during the event organized by Leslie Peterson and Master Gardener Bobby Woolf.
Ducey’s on the Lake provided a delicious vegetable soup for tasting as Ryan and Ethan Brouillette’s parents served the students and lucky diners learned about the ingredients. Parents Ryan Madaus, Adam Ruiz, and Cyndi Harte also volunteered their time to help that day, and donations came in from Western Sierra Nursery, Clean Cut Tree Service, Lopez Landscapes, Melissa Buller, the Wasuma PTA and many Wildcat parents.
Last week, Wasuma parent Sunny Charmen organized tree planting to honor Arbor Day for kindergartners like her daughter Lilee. Sunny works for ACRT, so she and Alex Ratchford came and prepped the ground for the kindergarten classes to plant two trees donated by PG&E. Sunny also arranged for Daniel Vereschagin, Alan Finocchio and Tobi Harvey from ArborWorks to come out and show students how they take care of trees with a demonstration from one of their lift trucks. Arbor Works donated small saplings for kids to take home and plant.
Thanks for showing us how it’s done!
Photos courtesy of Leslie Peterson and Wasuma Elementary School