The response was tremendous. Additional funding was gained by recycling paper products through Kimberly Clark, newspapers through the Knoxville News Sentinel, and aluminum cans. Apenny drive was held in the spring of that year. The students in Kindergarten through fifth grade collected 588 pounds of pennies. The HPE students have enjoyed the area a great deal.
Students become budding entomologists as they collect and identify insects.
They have observed Monarch butterflies, frogs, turtles, rabbits, birds, squirrels, and will soon see Koi in the pond. There is still much work to be done on the classroom. Several areas need to be re-landscaped and benches are planned for quiet reading. With the help of the community, students and teachers, we believe this science area could become one of our most important educational tools. We also raised monarch butterflies from caterpillars found in our outdoor classroom.