LCO School students help college farm with pollinator project

Submitted by LCO School

Staff from the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe School and the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College extension collaborated to grant fund and facilitate an ongoing project to promote pollinator education and protection. The grant was provided by the Teachers’ Outdoor Environmental Education Fund through the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin.

The grant started to provide opportunities in Spring of 2018 for sixth grade and first grade students to learn about pollinators through books, magnifiers and education materials purchased for the classrooms. Both classes toured the Cable Natural History Museum pollinator exhibit where experts led interactive presentations, games and hands-on activities. The older children constructed bat and bee houses and the younger children decorated them. The younger children completed writing activities, artistic drawings and made wildflower seed bombs to scatter at the farm. The older children made natural resource products from beeswax, including lip balm, candles and crayons.

The project will continue to provide learning opportunities through the classroom resources obtained, and the student made houses that are located throughout the farm property. This project was made possible by the following cooperating staff members: Tammy Moncel, Sue Menzel, Alicia Soto, Amy Mleczko and Tina Lacapa.