With a crew of eager third graders, Don Cuddy along with other members of the Mattapoisett Land Trust education committee planted sunflowers at Dunseith Park located at the corner of North Street and Route 6 recently. This is a continuation of a major goal by the land trust: educating children about our natural environment.
Soon, Cuddy was thinking that a sunflower seedling project might benefit not only the Mattapoisett Land Trust’s community engagement strategies but also help to educate local grade school kids by giving them first-hand, from the ground up, experience.
Cuddy suggested to the MLT’s education committee that they might somehow use the sunflower to further science-based education programming. But it was the height of COVID-19, globally education efforts were stymied.
At Old Hammontown School, where Center School children were temporarily relocated, an outdoor tent allowed some programing to move forward. Years later the program has expanded to include having the students plant the seeds themselves and when ready, planting the seedlings once nurtured in the classroom, outdoors at the highly visible site, Dunseith Park located at the corner of Route 6 and North Street. “They can see their own flower growing as they pass by in the family car,” Cuddy said, noting this would give them a deeper sense of ownership.
One of the main points the program strives to impart is the codependency of plants and animals. A statement made by the MLT education committee notes, “Animals need food and light, water, minerals and favorable temperatures – and animals or other mechanisms to disperse the seeds.” Cuddy can attest to that last point. “The rabbits got the seedlings last year.” He said he grows extra plants for this scientific reality. The accompanying story walk around the park features pages from the book Plant Secrets by Emily Goodman.
At first, Cuddy grew the seedlings for the children to plant. Now, working with the students and teachers, the plants are grown in their classroom. This year’s companion story meant to inspire the students to better understand where plants come from and how they area grown, is Plant Secrets by Emily Goodman. The book can be viewed in the story walk meandering around the park.
By Marilou Newell