Xeriscapes at Suzanne Middle School

When the eighth-grade students of Alan Haskvitz's class at Suzanne Middle School in Walnut, Calif. set out to design and plant a xeriscape garden on their campus, they had no idea of the potential impact their project could have on the entire community.

In fact, like most of us, they had to learn what xeriscaping was.

For several weeks, the students learned about the unique approach to landscaping that aims to reduce or eliminate the need for additional irrigation, other than what nature provides. The students spent time researching all types of xeriscape plants to find which would be best in their local environment, learning how to plan landscapes and how to design gardens to scale. Classroom activities integrated several areas of study, including math, economics, language arts and geography.

Led by Haskvitz, and with the help of the local Water District, the students set to plant the garden on their school's campus. They hoped the garden would not only beautify their school grounds, but would also provide the community with an opportunity to learn about xeriscape landscapes and see what plants and designs could be employed at home.

To bolster their efforts, the students enlisted the help of a gardening expert and put together a map of all the garden plants species, which was distributed to visitors.

The garden quickly became an asset to the school. But educating the larger community remained an unmet goal.

The students came up with a unique idea -- a mobile garden. By placing the xeriscape garden plants on a flatbed trailer, they were able to bring the garden to local malls and shopping centers where they could talk directly with local citizens. Armed with information, materials and the knowledge they had amassed, these students were able to truly spread their message of water conservation through xeriscaping.

While reaching out to the community, students continued to monitor the campus garden to determine how the approach impacted water and energy usage. The findings were then used as the basis for a presentation the students made to their City Council, indicating that over $200,000 could be saved by implementing xeriscape landscaping on city owned lands.

Haskwitz says the garden will continue to serve as a centerpiece of integrative applied learning, connecting Suzanne Middle School students with the entire Walnut community.

Submitted by Al Haskvitz, Suzanne Middle School

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