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About the "Circle of Life" Project

This is a piece of a larger project that involves 2nd grade.  2nd graders maintain our on-site prairie garden located in front of our school.  Students learn about indigenous plants and their habitat.  Our prairie garden is a small site.     Through the partnerships with the MN Wildlife Refuge, these same students learn about the larger prairie habitat and the other two MN habitats: woodlands and wetlands.     Another important piece of this "circle of life" is our partnership with the Elder's Lodge.  At the Lodge, Paul Red Elk (Native American herbalist and advocate of ancient food) and Bob White (Elder's Lodge resident) are planting gardens with seeds hundreds of years old.  Our students will work with the elders to plant, maintain, and document the gardens.   Students will learn about the importance of these indigenous plants to the health and well being of the environment and the people.     From the seed, to the earth, to the plant, to the people; it's all part of the circle of life.

Image Gallery: Learning About Sacred Tobacco
Ms. Swensen's 2nd graders learning about the sacred Tobacco plant with Paul Red Elk and Bob White (of the Elder's Lodge).
See all 13 images.