Butler Catholic students cultivate their garden
Bulb plants like tulips are some of the first to bloom in the spring, providing the first bits of nectar to pollinators in the new year.
On Wednesday, Nov. 2, students at Butler Catholic School planted tulips in the school’s garden area, which they will tend in preparation for the spring season.
Kathy Dudley, director of development for Butler Catholic, said the school has had gardening programs since 2018, and the students have taken an interest, especially in the yielded products.
“It’s neat to see the kids get excited about vegetables because they grew them,” Dudley said. “They love getting to plant the things they will be able to eat.”
The Pittsburg Tulips, named for their native region in Pittsburg, Kansas, were supplied Wednesday by Doug Oster, “Pittsburgh’s gardening guru,” who travels to school and community gardens to teach people about gardening.
In addition to teaching people about gardening and the best methods for tending to plants, Oster said he tries to teach his audience members, especially when they are children, life lessons through gardening.
“The success, the failures, the patience, it’s all part of the learning process,” Oster said. “This gives them an understanding that you have to be patient; it’s not going to immediately come to fruition.”
Dudley said Butler Catholic has two Penn State Butler Extension Master Gardeners who lead students in the Garden Club weekly in planting activities. She said the school invited Oster to campus to teach students more specific lessons about bulb plants and pollination.
“One of the main issues is pollinators; you need to have enough to pollinate plants,” Dudley said. “We’re glad we’re able to have Doug plant bulbs because he’s an expert and they’re one of the early pollinators in the spring.”
While the school and the Garden Club mainly work with produce and edible plants, Dudley said it was important that students also learn about flowering plants, because of the role they play in the ecosystem.
Oster also said the eventual blooming of the bulbs is an aesthetic reward.
“When they bloom, they are one of the only sources of nectar for the pollinators,” Oster said. “It’s beautiful when they bloom; it’s like night and day.”
During his visit, Oster recorded a video about planting the bulbs, which he said will be available first on his YouTube channel and website.
Dudley said the gardening curriculum at Butler Catholic ramps up as students get older so they learn new skills each year they are in school. She also said the school plans to invite guest speakers like Oster as often as possible to give the students new perspectives.
“They will be learning different things as they go through the years,” Dudley said. “It’s great to see them get out of their comfort zone.”
Abigail McGrath, a Butler Catholic fifth-grade student, has been in the Garden Club for more than two years now. She said her favorite part of Oster’s visit was using the auger drill.
“It teaches you a lot about plants and insects, which is really interesting,” Abigail said about the Garden Club. “It has gotten me into gardening, and we planted flower beds at my house.”
