Good Idea Nurtured Graveled Space Between Temporary Classrooms Undergoing A Transformation

When two portable classrooms were put into the Winton Elementary playground, the graveled space behind them became a “no” zone.

As in, “No, kids, you can’t play there.”

But the half-hidden, hard-to-supervise space is undergoing a transformation. On Wednesday, kids, teachers and parents began turning it into an outdoor science lab and garden.

While kids outside plucked rocks out of topsoil and helped make fenceposts, some third-graders were inside finishing design work on the gardens they’d like to see.

“I put grapes along the fence, and an insect study zone right by the fence,” said Ian McNeely, pointing out the purple places on his paper grid.

Lacey White would like to see a water fountain in the middle of the big tire, which actually will serve as a planter. And that curving line that she’d drawn?

“That’s a sidewalk.”

The project is the brainchild of third-grade teachers Nancy Mueller and Ann Porter-Brown, and first-grade teacher Pat Jonas.

The three applied in November for a $1,000 “Good Ideas” grant from Washington Water Power Co. In January, Winton became the only Coeur d’Alene school to receive one of this year’s grants.

The school’s PTO put up another $400, and United Pipe and Supply donated $350 worth of sprinkler systems. Other donations and parent labor will help finish the project, which is based on design work by Mueller’s husband, Jon, a landscape architect.

Over the past few weeks, kids from throughout the school raked gravel out of the garden space. Ditch Technologies donated topsoil.

The project has been incorporated into third-grade lessons, said Mueller.

Gardener Patti Jester taught the students about the sunny and shady spots in a garden, and the kinds of plants that would attract butterflies, birds and bugs.

The kids measured the garden space and calculated the perimeter. They learned the concept of scale, compressing their plans for the garden onto a paper grid.

“We talked about how you could never bring the entire space into your room and do this,” said Mueller.

Dressed in blue overalls, Mueller hopped over a line of fence posts that were on the ground. They were about to be cut into 6-foot lengths. She handed a tool to the students gathered around.

“This is what you call a straight edge, you guys,” she said.

Nearby, first-and second-graders eagerly plucked rocks from the topsoil. Parents dug post holes, pruned a tree, ran the rototiller.

The WWP grant included money for a microprojector, which will allow students in the whole school to observe different plants and bugs found living in the garden. Next year, they will start composting leftovers from the cafeteria and adding that to the soil.

The teachers hope Wednesday’s good weather will continue, and the plants will grow big enough for the children to enjoy before school is out. If not, the legacy of their work will greet them in the fall.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo