Students who lead the Climate Change Club at Niles North High School applied for a grant last spring to install a perennial pollinator prairie garden on the campus. The Green Committee for School Improvement awarded a $20,000 grant for the club’s project.
The Climate Change Club held a planting day on October 2 to begin installing more than 1,000 plants at the northwest corner of the school grounds. Student club leaders Mia Rubenstein, Lucy Emrich, Laney Petersen, and Ruby Rosenberg are working with their peers and volunteers from local organizations such as Go Green Skokie, Go Green Morton Grove, the WHO Club, and Green Thumbs to complete the project.
The pollinator garden will continue to be filled with butterfly-friendly, flowering native plants. The garden may also serve as an outdoor learning space for classes in the future. Cindy Fey, the staff sponsor of the Climate Change Club, expressed gratitude to the Buildings and Grounds team at Niles North for their support in transforming the lawn space into “a beautiful and restorative space for all to enjoy.”