While you've been living that summer life, Falcons Nest has grown into a vibrant educational outdoor classroom. The space is ready for the new school year ahead of learning lessons outdoors!
June's plantings have blossomed into flowering plants just in time for Falcons Nest to be featured in the upcoming September issue of Cary Magazine. Last June, Greenview & SiteOne landscaped the grounds, planting: Red Maples, Crape Myrtles, Dogwoods and Cherry Trees; evergreen shrubs; flowering bushes including Azaleas and Butterfly Bushes; ornamental grasses; a Bermuda grass pad; a gravel pad; and rock path. The PTA also installed (2) 500-gallon irrigation tanks with the help of GreenView and NC State Bioagriculture Engineering professor Mitch Woodward. Solar panels, batteries, lights, outlets and an overhead fan were hooked up by Covenant Solar. We did it all and are ready to start this year off fresh!
Alumni Volunteers Save the Day
Last Sunday the Falcons Nest team hosted a community work day to install garden posts, benches and weed. Two-thirds of the volunteers were alumni whose children graduated last year! The Floyd, Mintz and Prabhala families came back to lend a huge helping hand digging the holes for the posts and tending to a month's worth of weeds. Additional thanks to the Bartoli and Gatt families. Brightly colored benches, purchased by the GHE PTA, were added to the semi-circle learning pods near the academic instruments.
Falcons Nest Donation Garden Poles
The Green Hope High School Honors Art Club painted eight garden poles -- donated by GHE families -- last Spring in different North Carolina themes. The program was headed by GHHS visual arts teacher Melissa Poppe with the assistance and art direction of newly retired 20-year GHE art teacher Julie Driggers and GHE parent Suzanne Robottom. Each artist painted their inspired idea of North Carolina heritage, which included: the state bird Cardinal, the Eastern Box Turtle, Lighthouses, Piedmont region from mountain to sea, Dogwood flower (by Mrs. Driggers), the legend of Blackbeard pirate, Pine Trees and the state insect Honeybees.
We are so honored to collaborate with our high school on this project. These immensely talented students are such an inspiration to our students. Thank you to all the parents who bought a pole during last year's membership donation drive.
Teacher workshop with NC Museum of Natural Sciences & Nature Journals
Falcons Nest at GHE is ready for the new school year. Along with the new swerve benches, the PTA also purchased foldable benches and floor cushions for students to sit on. GHE educators and students will use the outdoor space to learn, retreat and do arts.
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences will be leading a workshop on implementing nature journaling and observation skills for GHE teachers during their first teacher workday on Aug.19. Self publishing company Lulu Jr. generously donated observation journals that we designed for each student to use throughout the year. Outdoor activities will be developed with the 4C’s in mind: critical thinking (particularly inquiry questions, analyzing information, presenting evidence, etc.), collaboration, creativity and communication. In addition, each teacher will receive a bag with bug boxes, magnifying glasses, nature pamphlets and more.
Cary Magazine Photoshoot @ Falcons Nest, Aug. 2022
Be on the lookout for Falcons Nest outdoor learning center in next month's Cary Magazine! We are so proud to be recognized for all the hard work our Green Hope Elementary team did to make this dream come true for our school community.
