Bogs: A Unique Spongy Environment
Find out that more than just berries grow in bogs, some rare plants do too
When I led an afterschool garden club for elementary students, I was always on the hunt for interesting and awe-inspiring topics. I tried to stay close to home — using a place-based learning model — but sometimes one has to stray and stretch to engage our youth.
I also picked new topics to give me some growth as well, as both a teacher and environmentalist interested in the natural world.
Early on, during the 15-year tenure I held the garden club, I did a unit on carnivorous plants. I believe this was spurred on by seeing a Venus flytrap in the grocery store of all places!
What kid wouldn’t want to learn about this “insect-eating” plant?
So I set about learning about the Venus flytrap and other carnivorous plants like sundews, and pitcher plants. I believe my lessons were successful because I thoroughly researched the topics I chose for our monthly units.
