Danvers Middle School

Danvers Sixth Graders Create an Award-Winning Greenscapes Garden

Sixth graders at the Holten Richmond Middle School in Danvers have been busy landscaping the front of their school with their very own Greenscapes Garden. Gracing the Conant Street entrance to the school, the garden is planted exclusively with native plants which are environmentally friendly and drought tolerant. The garden has been certified as a natural wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation, and has received an award from the National Garden Club (see photos at right).

The project started last year when John Hodsdon, Holten Richmond science teacher, and Pamela Irwin, Customer Service Advisor with the Danvers Department of Public Works, thought it would be a good idea to create a showcase Greenscapes garden at the school. The Greenscapes program encourages water-saving and environmentally friendly landscaping practices.

Last year’s sixth graders designed the garden. They researched native plants and learned about planting, and they listened to guest speakers from Salem Sound Coastwatch, the Town of Danvers, and the Danvers Garden Club. They decided where the plants should go, and they even created a brochure describing their Greenscapes Garden.

This year’s sixth graders got into the dirt this fall when Northeast Nursery in Peabody, a Greenscapes participating nursery, donated over forty large plants and numerous seedlings.  The plants are part of the American Beauties native plant collection, the native plant resource for the 2009 Greenscapes Massachusetts program.  Volunteers from the Danvers Garden Club and even some enthusiastic seventh graders returned to help the students with the planting process.

"I believe that the value of this project is that the students have the opportunity to help their community in a very real way,” said Holten Richmond science teacher John Hodsdon. 

“We hope that this garden will be a chance for the students to educate the community about environmentally friendly gardening. We want people to stop by the school, pick up a brochure and visit our Greenscape Garden," he continued.

The Town of Danvers has participated in the North Shore Greenscapes program since its inception in 2006. Each spring Greenscapes Guides have been distributed throughout the town.

“Danvers supports the Greenscapes program because it helps people have beautiful lawns and yards that don’t need a lot of water,” said Pamela Irwin from the Danvers DPW.

According to Barbara Warren, Executive Director of Salem Sound Coastwatch, individuals who follow Greenscapes recommended practices and use native, drought tolerant plants are helping to prevent further pollution of our local rivers, streams, and even the ocean.

The Holten Richmond Greenscapes garden is planned as an on-going project for sixth graders. Each new class will learn about plants and continue to make the garden grow. 

For more information about the Holten Richmond Greenscapes Garden, contact John Hodsdon at johnhodsdon@danvers.org. For more information about the Greenscapes North Shore Program contact Salem Sound Coastwatch at info@salemsound.org.