COSTA MESA : Student Gardeners Give Nature a Hand

By SHELBY GRAD

April 22, 1994 12 AM PT

Gray clouds from an incoming rainstorm didn’t stop a Kaiser Elementary School fifth-grade class Thursday from planting native California greenery that conserves water.

Throughout the week, students have quietly transformed a dirt patch in front of the campus’ staff room into a colorful sea of drought-resistant irises, sage and tulips.

In the process, they learned about the environment and got a group lesson in gardening.

“It felt good to be able to help nature,” said Travis Eve, 10, of Costa Mesa. “I learned it’s important to help the environment.”

The plantings provided students with hands-on experience to go along with teacher Laurel Ritter’s classroom science lectures. The school received a $500 grant from the Metropolitan Water District that helped pay for the project.

“What I find when I talk with kids about the Earth is that they are really concerned--in some ways more concerned than the adults,” Ritter said. “But as kids, they feel powerless to change things. By doing this, they feel like they have the power to change.”

On Thursday, this power meant digging holes and gently placing the plants in the ground along with some wood chips and water. The garden now includes green Mexican mobilas, purple Douglas irises, white and pink autumn sage and purple Mexican tulips.

Ritter hopes the new garden will bloom by the end of May--just in time for parents’ night at Kaiser.

In the meantime, students will periodically measure the growth of the plants.

“This helps the kids remember” what they are taught, Ritter said of the activity. “This gives them a chance to do something to help the Earth.”

Most students expressed excitement at their assignment. But for one environmentally aware 10-year-old, drought-resistant plants are old hat.

“We have these at home. My father taught me how to plant,” said Isaias Garcilazo of Costa Mesa. “It’s nice to see it grow without a lot of water.”