Caretakers Projects and Activities at Kettle Moraine High School (KMHS), Wales, Wisconsin – USA
by Cathy Chybowski

We have had the Caretakers of the Environment Club at Kettle Moraine High School for many years. It offers students the opportunity to become involved in various environmental school and community projects and activities as well as the chance to socialize with others of common interests. As advisors, we encourage students in all grades and from all backgrounds to join. At the beginning of each year, officers are elected in order to provide leadership to the organization. A formal membership list is not maintained; rather an open door policy is followed. Students are invited to join us when their schedule permits or when a particular project or activity is of special interest to the individual.

Though Caretaker members have participated in numerous projects, the priority project for the club has been the prairie restoration effort at nearby Lapham Peak State Park. This effort has been ongoing for several years. Students have collected prairie seed, planted seed and rootstock of native plants, and helped to control invasive species of plants in the areas under restoration.

There are many reasons that the club has been committed to restoring prairie at the park. First of all, Lapham Peak is in ‘our backyeard’ so students have a chance to help restore a local area that they are familiar with. Because of the park’s proximity, it is hoped that students will develop a feeling of pride and ‘ownership’ and be able to appreciate it in future years. Secondy, much of the native prairie which once existed in our state has disappeard. After the early settlers arrived in the 1800’s, they plowed the prairie sod to plant crops, prevented fires, and grazed livestock on it. Because man changed the landscape so drastically, it seems appropriate for the environmental club to restore suitable areas to the original vegetation.

With the help of Mike Fort who supervises the project at the park, students are taught the basics of prairie restoration and management as well as seed identification and collection. They learn to identify such species as Indian Grass, Big and Little Bluestem, Side-oats Grama, Wild Bergamot, Blazing Star, and various coneflowers. They ask many questions about prairie biodiversity, insect identification and adaptations, and how fire will be used as a prairie management tool in the future.

If you have visited the park in the fall, you may have seen a field full of volunteers harvesting seeds. Along with several
adults, more than thirty Kettle Moraine Caretaker students participated in the project. Several students were impressed that the adults working along side them were not paid by the park for their time and effort. Rather they chose to spend time there because they were committed to making their environment a better place for the whole community. This was undoubtedly one of the most important lessons learned by these young people!

Quite a different project was undertaken on the school property itself. Two large courtyards were planted with a combination of species designed to provide continuous bloom, beautiful colors, and interesting patterns and textures. The net effect is a naturalized planting of hardy species requiring little maintenance. As the plants have become established, we see many birds and insects – especially monarch butterflies attracted to the site.

As this natural community evolves, it provides an excellent educational opportunity for teachers and their students – right outside the back door. There are many things to be learned here; not just observing and recording the species of plants and animals, predators and prey. How the native Americans and the early settlers used various plants for medicines, food and utility is also taught.

In addition to these projects, Caretaker club members have raised money to support the timber wolf – an endangered species in our state. Other students have conducted ecological research and surveys at local areas like the Lipha Tech peat bog and a Nature Conservancy Preserve called Lulu Lake. Many have built and installed nest boxes to help the Eastern Bluebird regain its former numbers in southeastern Wisconsin, and a few have assisted in a local county park, applying wood chips to the hiking trails. Another very worthwile project – the Empty Bowls Project – was sponsored by the school’s Art Department. Caretakers cooperated with other students and staff to make ceramic bowls for a chile supper. The proceeds were then donated to the Food Pantry.

Finally, as students cleaned out their lockers at the end of the school year, Caretakers collected all useable school supplies. Items from colored pencils to notebooks will be donated to a school in a nearby community that is in need of them.

Besides working together, Caretakers have invited guest speakers to talk to the club on such topics as wolves, birds of prey and recycling. They have also enjoyed parades, picnics, hikes and canoeing.

Kettle Moraine High School
P.O. Box 902
349 Oak Crest Drive
Wales, WI 53183-0902
262 968 6200 office
262 968 6217 fax