Back Lawn beautification: Ecology Club’s new garden

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Ecology Club excitedly examines the plants in preparation.

“There’s nothing better than working in the dirt on a sunny day,” Courtney Kiley, the Ecology Club leader said. And on May 14 and 15, 2019, the club did just that. They set out to plant more than 11 hundred native species in the back lawn with shovels, potted plants, and a will to get their hands dirty. They worked on the far end of the lawn surrounding the basketball court, and patrons of the Kerrytown Farmers’ Market stopped in periodically to help with the planting. All of the plants (Aster, Little Bluestem, Black Eyed Susans, Blue Star) were chosen and supplied by the city of Ann Arbor. The construction that took place on the lawn during the school year destroyed the original Ecology Club rain garden, but Kiley is excited and grateful for an even more extensive and varied one. The garden will be Ecology Club’s responsibility for years to come, and the group is excited to help it thrive.