In May, Mrs. Demery’s fourth grade class from Kenwood School planted wild strawberries in their school forest near the oriole feeders at Cedar Lake East Beach.
Neighbor and Kenwood School parent alum Angie Erdrich, along with the team at Birchbark Books, gifted starter strawberry plants to the school. Erdrich also taught the children about the 67 species of moths and butterflies that depend on wild strawberries.
Parent volunteers Elyse Colpitts of Lowry Hill and Amy Sanborn of East Isles taught the kids how to plant. For the kids, a favorite element was using an auger to dig the holes.
Said Colpitts, “It was a great day! We are so lucky to have an amazing community that finds ways to expose our children to the natural world. And come next year, visitors to the beach area can watch for berries in early summer — if the forest critters don’t get them first!”
