The Greenhouse Garden Club is a member of 4-H and a Rutgers Master Gardener program. The students in the club attend the Cape May County Services School District. Their teacher, Gretchen Wiley, shares her class with us once a week while we learn about nature, wildlife and ecology.
This year we had a busy lesson plan. We created terrariums for the science fair and one of them will be on exhibit at the 4-H Fair. We decorated nature with a beautiful fall harvest arrangement. We created nine Christmas trees out of tomato cages and decorated them with natural items.
In the greenhouse, we had three large sand boxes, Zen gardens with shells and driftwood for children who needed an opportunity to wind down.
We spent a large portion of the year planting seeds, taking cuttings and growing plants. Our main theme evolved around the Monarch butterfly and the plants they need to thrive. Many of the plants have been planted successfully in the new Monarch Butterfly Garden on the 4-H Fairgrounds, and in the fall, we will be able to see how we did. Please take the time to visit the Monarch butterfly garden on the fairgrounds. We also have another garden on the fairgrounds where the new 4-H logo design is painted on the wall.
The best thing that comes from our group is the time we have to work with nature unplugged from phones, iPods and electronics. This really is the best part of 4-H, allowing kids to learn by experiences and hands on programs. Kids being kids – what is better than that!
Cape May County – I’d like to suggest to the Herald that they leverage spout offs draw and replace some of the ads for their paper with a few paid ads that you probably can charge a little extra for. Lots of people…
