York Town News
Coastal Clovers offer flower power and skeeter beaters
By Jennifer L. Saunders
Members of the Coastal Clovers 4-H Club, including those pictured here, planted marigolds outside York’s two elementary schools after raising the plants from seedling plugs as part of their "wonderful worms" vermiculture project.
Courtesy photo
YORK - Remember when the Coastal Clovers 4-H Club began raising those wonderful worms earlier this year?
That was only the beginning.
The Coastal Clovers 4-H Club planted several hundred marigolds at both Village and Coastal Ridge Elementary School on Friday May 25, raised in a mixture of worm castings and potting soil.
"The club, which includes kids from both schools, raised the marigolds from small seedling plugs donated by Coastal Landscaping," explained 4-H Leader Russell Osgood. "The kids transplanted them into a mixture of worm castings and potting soil, tying in their lessons on vermiculture."
After that, the children took the seedlings home and cared for them for several weeks, until they were ready to be translated into the school gardens at the end of May.
And how do they look? Gardeners and parents alike have reported that the marigolds are a wonderful mix and will add a splash of color to the schools.
"The club will watch over the flowers during the summer and when the kids return to school in the fall the flowers will be in full bloom, brightening up any day," Osgood explained.
And while beautifying their schools, the children also decided to help make it a bit more pleasant to be outdoors by bringing some "skeeter beaters" to the area.
After planting at Coastal Ridge, the children released dragon fly nymphs, known for eating mosquito larvae.
"So if anyone saw that line of kids putting something into the wetlands in front of Coastal Ridge there is no need to be alarmed," Osgood said. "It was just us Coastal Clovers releasing dragon fly nymphs."
The nymphs were donated thorough the St. Aspinquid Lodge No. 198 A.F. & A.M as a natural control for mosquitoes. The nymphs were released in the small pond on Ridge Road with the goal of reducing any mosquito problem in the area this coming season.
