Ephrata High School teacher Sarah Stauffer was recently awarded a grant from the Hardy Plant Society for a new agriculture project. The project initially entailed taking out shrubs to plant new, more environmentally conscious native plants, herbaceous perennials, and small trees.
By making this change, the upkeep will be easier, and the plants will be able to support more insects, effectively increasing the biodiversity of the area. More specifically, native plants are much better adapted to the local climate, so they do better in drought and tend to provide much higher quality food for birds and butterflies.
Mrs. Stauffer noted a statement by ecologist and entomologist Doug Tallamy as one of her inspirations to write the grant, “All plants are not created equal, particularly in their ability to support wildlife. Unless we restore native plants to our suburban ecosystems, the future of biodiversity in the United States is dim.”
The project has provided many educational opportunities. Students in the Honors Wildlife and Natural Resources class took the lead in cleaning out the current invasive species and planting the new plants, including Hackberry, River Birch, and Witch Hazel. Additionally, art and photography courses will include these new plants into coursework for students to sketch and photograph. In a few years, students in the Plant Science classes will be able to prune the area.
WRITTEN IN PART BY PR INTERN ELEONORA SCUTARU