PTO volunteers, led by Kim Canuette Grimaldi and Ariel Newman Wright, have rebuilt the school garden beds. The 2nd grade teaching team has a fantastic plan to use the garden beds to connect students’ literacy and science learning this spring to plants and pollinators by building a native pollinator sensory garden and monarch waystation.
Do any Merriam gardeners have any of the native pollinator species we’re looking for that they would be willing to divide up and share? Please contact STEAM Coordinator, Katherine Thompson (kthompson@abschools.org) if you can donate any of the following:
 Scented/Aromatic:Anise Hyssop Wild Bergamot Sweet Fern |  Bold & Beautiful Blooms:Purple Coneflower Black-eyed Susan New England Aster |  Fun to Touch:Lamb’s Ear (non-native but safe) Yarrow Sensitive Fern |
 Taste (used with supervision):Mountain Mint (already growing) Wild Strawberry Chives |  Pollinator Specialists:Butterfly Milkweed (already growing nearby) Blue Vervain Joe Pye Weed Wild Lupine |