“Little Red Hen” reclaims a schoolyard for wildlife

When the fabled Little Red Hen wanted to make bread, her friends were too busy, or too lazy, or just didn’t see the point. So Hen had to do it herself. When Vicki Zarra wanted to create a certified wildlife habitat on school grounds, though, she got lots of help.

On Friday, October 16, in a student assembly held at Irving School to recognize all of the brains and brawn that contributed to the completed project, Zarra recounted the Hen’s fable. Zarra, a pre-kindergarten teacher at the primary school, offered this conclusion: “When you get a good idea, don’t be afraid to ask for help -- and -- don’t be afraid to help when you hear a good idea, too.”

Zarra acknowledged the contributors by name as she presented the garden project as her own fable, complete with a cast of heroes. 'Seed money,' she punned, came through Ms. Landis of the Highland Park Education Foundation; next, soil testing was conducted by Steve Barnes of the HP Environmental Commission. “And then we wanted to make sure we had plants that would attract animals to our garden, to make it a true wildlife habitat,” Zarra explained, acknowledging landscape architect Eleanor James. “But the soil was very, very hard and full of rocks,” so Donald Rish of the borough’s Public Works Department provided machinery and man-power to till the soil and organized the delivery of fertilizer.

“Finally, it was planting day! And a lot of our Irving families came out to help us plant.” The final acknowledgement went to Jim Zarra, her husband, who assisted in coordinating throughout and continues to maintain the garden on weekends.

Along with marking the garden as a certified wildlife habitat, Zarra was presented a gift from the school community by principal Nancy Romano. The framed picture captioned, “Planting kindness, growing love” was a fitting tribute to Zarra, known throughout the school as The Garden Lady.

Break out the worms and banana peels!

Riding on the enthusiasm inspired by Zarra’s garden, Freeholder James Polos then announced the school and its habitat garden would host an experiment under the county’s Go Green, Save Green program. With three compost bins -- one square-shaped, one rounded, and one with fencing -- the students will try to see which produces the most and best compost. With the kid-tested buzzwords of worms, dirt, and a short explanation of worm ‘castings,’ Polos drew several resounding ‘Ewww!’s along with the awe and interest of each child. Polos told the students “It’s up to you now,” and that they would be the teachers when next spring he returns to hear their presentation of the results.

Polos also announced the habitat garden will be donated a rain collecting barrel, encouraging students to see how rainwater harvesting works.

Director of Solid Waste for Middlesex County, Richard Hills, followed Polos’ introduction and helped to clarify the difference between vermicomposting -- using worms to create fertilizer -- and veggie composting -- the breakdown of natural food and plant materials including banana peels, apple cores, grass clippings, egg shells, salad ingredients (without the dressing!), and even dryer lint.

The three compost bins at Irving are all of the veggie variety, but Hills cautioned (or promised) the children that they can expect to find bugs and worms in the mix, as part of the natural process. (‘Ewww!’)

Since the presentation the students’ enthusiasm for green has been evident, as they begin separating out compostables from their food wastes in the cafeteria. Students in the after-care program, led by Carla Draper, were outside Monday collecting sticks and twigs to provide a base for the bins, now installed in the corner of the garden. Draper’s students will also assist in maintaining the bins and keeping the compost damp.

What began as one teacher’s inspired habitat project has now developed into a community’s zest for green.