5th and 6th Grade Green Team Students Represent at GMU

Eight representatives from Fairview's 5th and 6th grade Green Team attended the School Environmental Action Showcase at George Mason University on April 6th. The students talked to attendees about Fairview's eco activities, and got a chance to see what other schools across Northern Virginia are doing.  They really enjoyed the hands-on activities put on by local organizations such as the Park Authority and the Soil and Water Conservation District.






Our Fairview Green Team representatives in front of our display.



Lily Whitesell of the NoVa Soil and Water Conservation District talks to the kids about runoff and water quality. 



Playing the runoff game.



Getting to touch a rescued great horned owl.



Worm composting demonstration.



Tammy Schwab from the Fairfax County Park Authority leads our students in an activity.



Hands-on water quality demonstration.

The Tulips are Up!

Led by our PTA garden gurus, Maggie Hall and Kristin Townsend, Green Team students planted red emperor tulips last October around two trees just outside our front entrance.  Here they are in mid-February, just poking through the mulch.

The tulips are part of an international science project called Journey North.  When the tulips emerge in the spring, the date is recorded on Journey North's website. 

 

 Students can then track the arrival of spring across the Northern Hemisphere, and compare different location's emergence dates from year to year.

 

 

 

2nd Grade Raises and Releases Monarchs

We found enough Monarch caterpillars munching on our milkweed plants around the school grounds this fall that all four second grade classes were able to bring some caterpillars into their classrooms. The students had the chance to observe the Monarch lifecycle up close and then release the adult butterflies in the Learning Gardens.

 

Monarch caterpillars are very picky eaters! They will only eat the leaves of milkweed plants. Luckily we have common milkweed, swamp milkweed and butterflyweed growing in the Learning Gardens. When the caterpillar hangs upside down in a "J" shape, you know it's getting ready for it's big transformation.

The chrysalis is green with gold spots. The caterpillar will spend 10-14 days like this, seemingly inactive, but there is a lot going on in there!

The adult Monarch emerges with it's wings wet and wrinkled. It must unfold them and let them dry out before it can fly.

Some of the butterflies were ready to go, but the weather was not cooperating. If the temperature is below 60 degrees, Monarchs are not able to fly. Since it was cold and raining after a few of the butterflies emerged (technically it's called eclosing), we supplied them with some nectar plants from the gardens, and the kids got to watch them a little longer.

 

Mrs. Pearson's class released their Monarchs in the Learning Gardens on a sunny afternoon. We hope they make it to Mexico!

 

 

Green Team Plants Monarch Waystation

Green Team members ready to plant on a rainy spring day.

 

Green Team students met one rainy afternoon to plant milkweed and nectar plants in the Learning Gardens.  The new Monarch Waystation will support the monarch butterflies that migrate through our area every spring and fall on their way to and from Mexico. Monarch caterpillars will munch on the three types of milkweed we planted, and the adult butterflies will drink the nectar from the goldenrod, asters, brown-eyed susans, and other flowering plants. To find out more about the amazing monarch migration, and how you can plant a monarch waystation in your own yard, visit http://monarchwatch.org/waystations/.

Using our own compost made from cafeteria scraps!



Dirty hands = good work!