Nurturing nature at Poe

Lesley Abrams-Schwartz, Elle Abrams-Schwartz, Aiden Abrams-Schwartz, Jace Gaff, Kathryn Kotter, Stacie Gaff, Lesley Abrams-Schwartz, Kate Arbiter, Shawn Gray and Lucinda Kotter

Poe Elementary School parent Lesley Abrams-Schwartz, who serves as chairperson for the recycling committee and co-founder of Poe's new Kids For Saving Earth Club, thought that helping save the butterflies would be a great thing to take on. She learned of grants offered by the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) to plant butterfly gardens at HISD schools. This would help save the declining monarch butterfly population (which has decreased by 90 percent), make an outdoor classroom for students at Poe and begin the journey to becoming an eco school. The effort included NWF seminars for the adults on how to produce, promote and maintain the garden, as well as site visits from NWF. Now the area features an oval, pupa-shaped garden filled with milkweed and nectar plants, and wooden beds filled with more milkweed and nectar plants, plus herbs, fruits and vegetables. Pictured in the garden are (front row, from left) Elle Abrams-Schwartz, Aiden Abrams-Schwartz, Jace Gaff, Kathryn Kotter, (top row, from left) Stacie Gaff (Poe parent), Abrams-Schwartz, Kate Arbiter (Poe administrator), Shawn Gray (Poe teacher) and Lucinda Kotter.

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