School Garden and Monarch Waystation
PTA parent volunteers and the Willow Springs Garden Club have created a wonderful learning garden at school. Visit the photo gallery to see the monarch way station under construction and photos of the caterpillars and chrysalises discovered this fall.
The PTA and the Garden Club have been working hard to build a Monarch Waystation along the soccer fields at Willow Springs. It’s a lovely addition to the fields and thanks to David Sharp, it’s protected from errant soccer balls by a great new fence.
In Spring 2014, we broke ground, and the Garden Club (kids!) helped with the initial planting of flowers and milkweed specifically chosen to attract Monarch Butterflies. You can see how hard everyone worked to create this beautiful space out of a grassy patch. The Monarch population has plummeted over the past 50 years to the point they may soon be considered endangered. It’s important that we do what we can to protect and expand their habitats. The butterflies need the flowers for food – the nectar. And the caterpillars’ only source of food is milkweed.
We know our Waystation is working – we found Monarch chrysalises and 10 – 15 Monarch caterpillars the first fall it was established. We hope that you and your kids will enjoy visiting the Waystation and learning more about how we are supporting the Monarch butterflies and caterpillars. For more information on Monarch Waystations, please visit http://www.monarchwatch.org/waystations/
Thank you to Karen Prante for bringing the School Yard Garden and Monarch Waystation to Willow Springs. Whole Foods, The Sodergren Family and Clifton Contracting and Karen Prante created the garden in 2009. The Garden Club, school custodians, James and Jillian Penn and Mowing & Towing, LLC continue to maintain the gardens at our school for the enjoyment and enrichment of all the students.
Recycling Programs at Willow Springs
Willow Springs PTA works with Terracycle to recycle! Look for the bins in the lobby to recycle Markers and Ink Cartridges! Capri sun style juice pouches are recycled in the cafeteria.
Juice pouches are made into cool new products like handbags and pencil cases. Terracycle donates to Willow Springs PTA for every recycled pouch in the special collection bin.
Recycle your old markers at school! Get crafty without creating trash. www.crayola.com/colorcycle
What We Recycle – And Where to Recycle It
Here is a list of what and where you can recycle while at school:
| What | Where |
| Paper and cardboard | Blue bins, classroom |
| Plastic | Blue bins, classroom |
| Cans and bottles | Blue bins, classroom |
| Juice pouches ($) | Cafeteria (round bin near stage/exit) |
| Milk cartons (empty only; throw in trash if half full) | Cafeteria (collected after lunch) |
| Straws | Cafeteria (collected after lunch) |
| Clear/black fruit and vegetable trays (empty only; please dump excess food before recycling) | Cafeteria (collected after lunch) |
| Hard Plastic containers with recycling symbol (lunchables, applesauce…) | Cafeteria (collected after lunch) |