Manistique Area Schools Pollinator Garden

In 2022, SCD established a pollinator garden outside the Manistique Middle & High School under a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant coordinated with the Lake 2 Lake (L2L) Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area. That fall, 166 native plants were established with the help of L2L staff and a group of local sixth graders enrolled in an MSU Extension program; additional native flowers and shrubs have since been added. The pollinator garden, which has flourished with minimal upkeep in poor soil conditions, is a testament to the resiliency of native plans. We hope it can serve as an example to community members of how easy it is to support pollinators in their own backyards.

Emerald Elementary School Pollinator Garden

​Encouraged by the success of the MAS Pollinator Garden, we applied for and was awarded a grant from the Wildflower Association of Michigan to fund the establishment of a second garden outside Emerald Elementary School. Site preparations took place in August 2024, when several volunteers from the community came to help till and remove the sod. In September, fourth and fifth grade classes from both Emerald and St. Francis helped plant over two hundred native flowers and grasses over the course of two days. In addition to providing critical habitat, the garden will give faculty an outdoor teaching space that will foster students’ appreciation of pollinators through hands-on learning.