Vineland Students Discover What Lives in a Rain Garden

Fourth graders from Anthony Rossi Elementary School in Vineland put on their "scientist hats" and practiced their observation skills during the American Littoral Society's new "What Lives in a Rain Garden?" educational program. 
 
Led by the Society's Delaware Bayshore team during the October 6 event, the students learned about the importance of rain gardens which capture rainwater as it falls from the sky, helping water soak into the ground for plants, animals, and people who need it. They also heard that rain gardens make great homes for all sorts of living creatures, but they had to find the evidence! 
 
Students were given a data sheet and set off on their investigation, zig zagging through their school rain garden, peaking under leaves, lifting rocks, and looking closely to see what they could find. They discovered that rain gardens make great habitats for pollinators and other native wildlife, providing food, water, and shelter that living things need to survive. They also explored the life cycle and migration of the monarch butterfly and even found an empty monarch chrysalis in the garden!
 
If you are interested in an Education Program with the American Littoral Society in the South Jersey/Delaware Bayshore region, contact Michelle, Delaware Bayshore Education Coordinator at michelle@littoralsociety.org.

Read on for more photos from the rain garden program.

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