CommUNITY Champion: Mother fosters discovery, wonder with study garden at local elementary school
A Seminole County elementary school is the proud new owner of a moon tree.
In 2022, NASA's Artemis Program carried tree seeds into the lunar orbit aboard the Orion spacecraft. The seeds spent about four weeks in space before returning to Earth.
Lawton Elementary School was one of the 50 STEM programs in the nation chosen to house one, and it's all thanks to this week's WESH 2 CommUNITY Champion.
Jennifer Ferrell could hardly contain her excitement after she applied for and secured a piece of space for the Lawton Elementary Study Area.
"It's grown from a seed that went up in the Artemis One mission back in 2022. It went 70,000 miles in space, orbited the moon, stayed up in space for 25 1/2 days, came back," Ferrell said. "They checked them to make sure they were healthy, and then they planted them. I put in a big application and crossed my fingers. And they let me know a month ago that we got it."
The five species of tree seeds aboard Artemis 1 will now be a part of a national STEM engagement and conservative education initiative. Museums, universities and K-12 organizations fought for the chance to house one.
"LESA garden is my passion. I've been doing it for 10 years. I got involved when my kids went here. It started as a small outdoor classroom, and we saw empty two acres, and we just filled it," Ferrell said. "It just fit in nicely. It's like a tree from NASA, and we can teach the kids about it."
Between the milkweeds, the edible plants, the chickens, the sensory garden, the plot of land run by Ferrell and a host of student volunteers is already used by a multitude of teachers in daily lessons.
"They learned lessons they don't even know they're learning. They're out here maybe to learn about math and measure the planting beds. They're learning about soil or a butterfly ... we'll pause and learn about the life cycle of a butterfly. A lizard will run by and we'll learn it'll eat the butterfly. We learn all about life cycles. So many times, they come up with one lesson and they learn five others, it's a lot of fun," Ferrell said.
"Once a week, I'll come out," Daneen Botsko, a fourth grade math and science teacher, said. "Even when we come out to recess, I'll say, 'OK, do you want to go walk through the garden?' and I'll think of something to teach them."
Botsko says they found a chrysalis under one of the planters and observed it every morning for 10 or 11 days. She says her students sat and watched it dry for two hours.
"They learned so much. I don't think they'll ever not remember. Complete metamorphosis," Botsko said.
The garden is a labor of love for Ferrell, who took over care of the garden when her children were at the school. When they left, she felt herself rooted to the Earth that had given her purpose.
"She is a true CommUNITY Champion, Botsko said. "I mean, her children aren't even here anymore, but she comes here every day."
A passion to nurture not just LESA, but a sense of wonder for what grows between students' toes and stretches far above their heads.