Creating a Native Garden, Pond and Habitat in the School Courtyard

A place for birds and insects to live.

A place for students to study science.

Only one year after the pond's creation, wild ducks use this protected habitat area to raise their young.

Waldo Middle School / Jane Goodall Environmental Middle School
Salem, Oregon

Teacher and Roots and Shoots coordinator Mike Weddle has been working with students since 1996 to transition a school courtyard (completely enclosed by building walls) into a native habitat area. The habitat area (approximately 50 feet by 150 feet) has been planted with 120 native Oregon plant species including trees, shrubs, lichens, mosses, and fungi. Students built a pond (water circulated with a donated pump) where several families of ducks have raised their young, and the trees have grown into a small forest.

I had the pleasure of receiving a guided tour of the courtyard turned native habitat area when performing for a Roots and Shoots function in Salem. I was amazed how much can grow and live in the confines of a courtyard completely surrounded by the windows and brick walls of the Waldo Middle School. And I was amazed how many birds and insects found refuge in this hidden oasis.

Habitat Area for Critters. A Study Area for Students Studying Art, English and Lewis & Clark. And Science of Course.

Mike Weddle expained that the intial idea was to provide habitat for birds and insects and other critters as well as to provide a place for students to study native plants, lichens, and fungus. The courtyard habitat area became a place for other classes to use: art classes for art, English for writing poetry, history classes for studying Lewis and Clark. How do you study Lewis and Clark in a courtyard of a middle school you ask? The history class studies from a book that lists 50 native plants that Louis and Clark describe in their journal. The science students have planted almost all of Louis and Clark’s 50 plants in the courtyard. The history class can go out and observe them firsthand.

Turning Grass to Soil

Initially the entire courtyard was a grass lawn. To turn the lawn into soil, the students took a sod cutter and cut down two inches in the grass. They turned the pieces of sod (grass) upside down and covered them with black plastic so the grass would decompose. It turned out that the soil underneath the sod was very good, so they didn’t have to amend the soil. Once the sod was decomposed, they rototilled the sod into the soil.

Choosing What Native Plants to Plant

The students consulted the Oregon Native Plant Society who advised them on what native plants to plant. The Oregon Native Plant Society recommended nurseries where they could purchase native plants. Mike Weddle and the students then wrote a grant to gain funding to purchase the native plants.

Creating a Pond

The single most expensive part of the project was obtaining the water pump and liner. The pond water needs to circulate for the animals and plants to live in it. Some parents knew a place where they could get a good deal on a pump and liner, and these were purchased (from grant money) for around $600. The students built a two-foot waterfall so the water could circulate and airate.

Raising Wild Ducks Just Outside the Cafeteria

The pond was built close to huge set of windows just outside of cafeteria, a very visable area to the whole school population. The pond and habitat area were created in 1996. By 1997 ducks were nesting in the courtyard. For four years in a row, ducks raised 12-22 baby ducks per year. It was a very safe place to raise ducks because of the protection the courtyard offered.

Total Expenses

The entire habitat project (plants and pond pump & liner) cost around $2,000, money which was raised through grants. They planted around 1,000 plants at first: “Perhaps we over planted a little in the beginning,” pointed out Mike Weddle.

Continued Efforts

Every year new students are shown a Power Point presentation of how the courtyard has changed since it was first planted. Students continue to care for the pond and habitat area. When original planters come back to visit, they are amazed at the growth that has taken place.

What You Can Do

As humans pave over more and more of the Earth, animals and plants are always on the lookout for habitat areas. Even a small ten foot by ten foot plot of native plants in the middle of a big city school parking lot will provide a place for some animals, insects, and birds to live. And provide a place for students to study what happens. And provide a small gift to the critters that students can take pride in. Plant that courtyard! Rip up that extra parking space! Replant that extra corner of the lawn with native plants. Give a little bit back to the critters!