Meadows provide shelter and food for a variety of wildlife that live within the Mid Atlantic region. Meadows are composed primarily of herbaceous or non-woody plant species. Their open structure and flowering plants attract mammals, birds, and pollinators.
Meadows can serve as an agricultural buffer by preventing sediment and nutrients from reaching waterways. Meadows can also improve water quality by cleaning runoff in suburban and rural areas by using them in place of traditional lawns. A school, home or park can install a meadow in a grassy area by restricting or stopping mowing. The land will go through stages of succession and can be helped along by first removing the turf and adding seeds or plants.
Connecting to Issue Investigation
The variety of environmental benefits a meadow provides can make this solution relevant to many different investigations. For example, if during the course of an investigation or school audit, students see a need for protecting or improving wildlife habitat, decreasing impervious surfaces, cleaning runoff, or the environmental benefits of decreasing manicured lawn then a meadow can help! In addition, a school or nearby meadow can provide a fascinating outdoor laboratory and location for outdoor learning across many disciplines.
For those working towards green school awards, this action can reduce a school’s environmental impact if the meadow is located on school grounds.
Facilitating Student Action
Students should continue to have opportunities to share ideas and opinions throughout the process of identifying, planning, and implementing action. Listed here are just a few ways students can stay engaged while working on this solution—but there are many more! The complexity of each activity/task can be adjusted for each grade level.
Protect - students can educate others on why meadows should be protected. Younger students can create simple scripts to deliver to decision makers and land owners and older students can create more involved presentations that include primary sources.
Restore - students can work on restoring a local meadow. Using age-appropriate resources, students can identify invasive plants, remove them, and suggest replacements to improve the habitat.
Create - students can create a meadow on the schoolyard or in the community. Depending on age, students can help with or lead the initial steps of determining if a meadow would thrive in a place by measuring the soil and precipitation. Students can research the components of a healthy meadow and get involved with plant selection, habitat design, and installation. Meadows take years to establish so student’s work may just focus on initial planning and setting up a multiyear maintenance plan.
Monitor - students can monitor a new or established meadow. Monitoring protocols will differ by age. Results and observations can be shared with others to encourage protection or inform restoration. Data sets can build up over years and students can track changes in the habitat.
Share and Celebrate - students can share their work with the school community by giving tours of the meadow, giving presentations, creating displays, or writing and delivering morning announcements. Students can also write articles, press releases or invite reporters from the school paper and the local newspaper.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Schoolyard Habitat Project Guide is a comprehensive guide that walks you through the entire process of creating or restoring a schoolyard habitat or outdoor classroom space. The information is transferable to habitats outside schoolyards. See Appendix B of the guide for meadow-specific instructions. The guide also includes ideas for monitoring and sharing the wetland.
The Mid-Atlantic Native Meadows Guidelines for Planning, Preparation, Design, Installation and Maintenance provides a more detailed guide on how to create a healthy meadow.
Creating a Wild Backyard - Wildflower Meadows from Maryland Department of Natural Resources provides a simple step-by-step guide to installing a meadow and includes a list of plant species for wet and dry meadows.
Nyanda hutoa makao na chakula kwa ajili ya wanyama wa pori mbalimbali wanaoishi katika eneo la Atlantiki ya Kati. Nyanda hufanyizwa hasa na mimea ya mitishamba au isiyo ya mbao. Muundo wao ulio wazi na mimea yenye maua huvutia mamalia, ndege, na vimelea. Nyanda za nyasi zaweza kutumika kama kizuizi cha kilimo kwa kuzuia matope na virutubisho visifikie njia za maji. Pia, nyanda za nyasi zinaweza kuboresha ubora wa maji kwa kusafisha maji ya mto katika maeneo ya vitongoji na vijijini kwa kuzitumia badala ya nyasi za jadi. Shule, nyumba au bustani inaweza kuweka nyasi katika eneo lenye nyasi kwa kuzuia au kukomesha kukata nyasi. Mimea hiyo itapitia hatua kadhaa na inaweza kusaidiwa kwa kuondoa nyasi na kuongeza mbegu au mimea. Kuunganisha na Uchunguzi wa Suala Aina ya faida za mazingira ambayo nyasi hutoa inaweza kufanya suluhisho hili liwe muhimu kwa uchunguzi mwingi tofauti. Kwa mfano, ikiwa wakati wa uchunguzi au ukaguzi wa shule, wanafunzi wanaona haja ya kulinda au kuboresha makazi ya wanyama wa porini, kupunguza nyuso zisizoweza kupenya, kusafisha maji, au faida za mazingira za kupunguza nyasi zilizotunzwa vizuri, basi nyasi inaweza kusaidia! Kwa kuongezea, shule au uwanja wa karibu unaweza kutoa maabara ya nje yenye kuvutia na eneo la kujifunza nje katika taaluma nyingi. Kwa wale wanaofanya kazi kwa ajili ya tuzo za shule ya kijani, hatua hii inaweza kupunguza athari za mazingira ya shule ikiwa nyasi iko kwenye uwanja wa shule. Kuwezesha Shughuli za Wanafunzi Wanafunzi wanapaswa kuendelea kuwa na fursa za kushiriki mawazo na maoni katika mchakato wote wa kutambua, kupanga, na kutekeleza hatua. Orodha hapa ni njia chache tu wanafunzi wanaweza kukaa kushiriki wakati wa kufanya kazi juu ya ufumbuzi huu <unk> lakini kuna mengi zaidi! Utata wa kila shughuli / kazi inaweza kurekebishwa kwa kila ngazi ya darasa. Kulinda - wanafunzi wanaweza kuelimisha wengine juu ya kwa nini nyasi zinapaswa kulindwa. Wanafunzi wadogo wanaweza kuunda maandishi rahisi ya kuwasilisha kwa watunga maamuzi na wamiliki wa ardhi na wanafunzi wakubwa wanaweza kuunda maonyesho zaidi yanayohusisha vyanzo vya msingi. Kurudisha - wanafunzi wanaweza kufanya kazi ya kurudisha nyasi ya mahali hapo. Kwa kutumia rasilimali zinazolingana na umri wao, wanafunzi wanaweza kutambua mimea inayovamia, kuiondoa, na kupendekeza mbadala ili kuboresha makao. Kuunda - wanafunzi wanaweza kuunda nyasi katika uwanja wa shule au katika jamii. Kulingana na umri, wanafunzi wanaweza kusaidia au kuongoza hatua za awali za kuamua kama nyasi itafanikiwa katika mahali fulani kwa kupima udongo na mvua. Wanafunzi wanaweza kuchunguza sehemu za nyasi yenye afya na kuhusika na uteuzi wa mimea, kubuni makao, na ujenzi. Meadows kuchukua miaka kuanzisha hivyo kazi ya mwanafunzi inaweza tu kuzingatia mipango ya awali na kuanzisha mpango wa matengenezo ya miaka mingi. - Monitor wanafunzi wanaweza kufuatilia meadow mpya au imara. Mipango ya ufuatiliaji itatofautiana kulingana na umri. Matokeo na uchunguzi inaweza kushirikiana na wengine kuhamasisha ulinzi au kuelimisha kurejesha. Mkusanyiko wa data unaweza kujengwa kwa miaka mingi na wanafunzi wanaweza kufuatilia mabadiliko katika mazingira. Kushiriki na Sherehe - wanafunzi wanaweza kushiriki kazi yao na jamii ya shule kwa kutoa ziara ya meadow, kutoa maonyesho, kuunda maonyesho, au kuandika na kutoa matangazo ya asubuhi. Wanafunzi pia wanaweza kuandika makala, taarifa za vyombo vya habari au kualika waandishi wa habari kutoka karatasi ya shule na gazeti la mitaa. Marekani Mwongozo wa Mradi wa Habitat ya Shule ya Fish & Wildlife Service ni mwongozo wa kina ambao unakuongoza kupitia mchakato mzima wa kuunda au kurejesha mazingira ya shule au nafasi ya darasa la nje. Habari hiyo inaweza kuhamishwa kwenye maeneo ya nje ya viwanja vya shule. Angalia nyongeza B ya mwongozo kwa ajili ya maelekezo maalum meadow. Mwongozo huo pia unatia ndani mawazo ya kufuatilia na kushiriki maeneo ya mvua. Miongozo ya Mid-Atlantic Native Meadows kwa Mipango, Maandalizi, Ubunifu, Usanidi na Uhifadhi hutoa mwongozo wa kina zaidi juu ya jinsi ya kuunda meadow afya. Kuunda Wild Backyard - Wildflower Meadows kutoka Maryland Idara ya Rasilimali Asili hutoa mwongozo rahisi hatua kwa hatua ya kufunga meadow na inajumuisha orodha ya spishi za mimea kwa meadows mvua na kavu.