Project: Sustaining the Future

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Narrative & Purpose:

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Traphill Elementary School, a small community school in the Wilkes County District in closest proximity to Stone Mountain, North Carolina, is seeking funding to transform our outdoor learning spaces into enriching hubs of sustainability and hands-on education. We have 75 total students, with roughly 80% living below the poverty line. With your support, we will plant a butterfly garden, upgrade our outdoor classroom, plant fruit trees and install a beehive. These items would complement the solar grid purchased and installed with a grant in 2023, and our greenhouse that was built with funds donated from a Traphill alumnus. Both of these sustainability tools, the grid and the greenhouse, are currently in use on our campus.

 

Key Learnings

Successful completion of this project would:

• Enhance Biodiversity and Learning: Establishment of a butterfly garden that supports local pollinators and gives opportunities for hands-on lessons including insect life cycles, the role and importance of pollinators in our environment.

• Update Outdoor Classroom: Improvements to the outdoor classroom to allow for more open air lessons for all classes and subjects.

• Promote Self Reliance: Plant apple and peach trees to teach students about food systems, life cycles of trees, and responsible growing practices. Fruit will be free to community members who are in need, so students will learn the value of giving back to the community that supports our school.

• Formation of the Wildcat Honey Club: Create a beehive program that teaches bee biology, ecosystem interdependence, sustainability, and responsibility.

 

Impact on Students and Community:

All of these pieces would benefit the school and community. Taking part in these activities will give students knowledge that they could share with their families and others. Community members and families would have access to fresh food and suitable meeting places. The expertise of those in the community would also be used to help make this a success. We could use 4H services and the local bee keeping group which may lead to other opportunities for our students. Having these experiences would provide students with skills and values that could continue to be used long after they leave Traphill. They would become more thoughtful, environmentally literate citizens.

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