Gardening: Rewilding Project gets students out of the classroom and into the dirt

The kids poured out of Mt. Spokane High School on a recent sunny weekday morning to a plot of land along Highway 206.

They gathered around teachers and Master Gardener volunteers for instructions and to pick up native plants and grasses before heading to their assigned planting spots.

The first job was to clear their area of rush skeleton weed and dandelions to make planting spaces for native penstemons, yarrow, lupine, serviceberry, Lewis’ flax, wild rose, western asters and more. They spent 20 minutes digging weeds and another 20 minutes planting their pots of plants before returning to the building for their next class.

These shifts of students went on into the afternoon as the students completed the third spring planting of their Rewilding Project.

The brainchild of retired Mt. Spokane  High School biology teacher Michelle Thompson, the Rewilding Project was the culmination of an effort to create onsite field trip opportunities to give students outdoor learning experience without the hassle and expense of coordinating students’ class schedules and the availability of buses needed to drive to field trip site.

Thompson knew field trips went a long way toward engaging students with what they were learning in the classroom. It made her sad to think that in some of her classes only 10% of the students had ever been to Mount Spokane.

The project is an effort to return a piece of land to its original condition by replanting it with native plants, trees and shrubs. In a few years, the area will be filled with wildflowers and native shrubs that will draw insects, animals and other flora that once flourished on the Peone Prairie.

Thompson’s idea was approved by the school district, and it gave the effort access to a large grassy area along Highway 206. Other teachers, staff, the school’s Sustainability Club and the ground maintenance staff picked up the project.

Thompson applied for and won a $35,000 grant through the Outdoors for All Foundation to do prep work and buy plants. Plants of the Wild in Tekoa, Washington, provided plants. Gonzaga University’s biology and environmental sciences students grew plants on campus for the project, Whitworth University provided pine needles for mulching and the Spokane Conservation District helped with advice and more plants.

The kids that showed up for the planting day were excited to be involved in the project. They all felt that returning the land to its original condition was important to preserve habitat for pollinators, birds and other animals. Several of them commented that being outdoors was a great way to practice what they were learning and connect with each other on what they considered an important project.

The grant funding for the project is running out, however, and Thompson and her partners are looking for new sources of funding, including donations from the community.

“We want to keep this going to get students outdoors and for long-term maintenance,” Thompson said.

To donate , contact biology teacher Kaprina Reed at Kaprina.reed@mead354.org.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to correct the name of the school.