Written By: Shaana Cheriyan
On Friday, November 4, the Gardening Club, Environmental Club, and National Honor Society were invited to join Kikki Short, a member of the Port Chester Sustainability Committee and Port Chester Historical Society, to plant crocuses at the Bush-Lyon Homestead in Lyon Park. About 30 students attended and worked in groups to plant the bulbs that will bloom in the spring. The students were provided bulb planters, trowels, and gloves.
We spoke with Kikki Short, as well as Carol Conde, a senior and the president of the Environmental Club, on their experience with the event.
This event was put into play because the Historical Society has been working for years to make the area surrounding the Bush-Lyon Homestead more beautiful. The Historical Society is relatively new, and its purpose is to preserve the history in Port Chester. In partnership with the Sustainability Committee and the above PCHS student organizations, they were able to preserve the history of the Bush-Lyon homestead by improving the environmental aspect of it. According to Short, “The society would like people to look at the building and grounds, become curious about our local history, and learn more about it.”
The bulbs that were planted should naturalize over the years. This increases the number of crocuses each year, and these flowers will bloom in the spring, allowing Port Chester to see these flowers in the spring and immerse in the experience.
This gardening event definitely proved to be beneficial towards the Environmental Club. According to Carol, who helped with the Giving Garden at the middle school, the members never truly got their hands dirty from gardening. This was the perfect time to teach the students, and it seems like it was everyone’s favorite part, as well. This event helps provide excitement towards the Environmental Club’s future plans – including hiking and greenhouse trips – and hopefully some collaborations with the Gardening Club.
It is truly amazing to see that there is a care in our school concerning environmental aspects of our town.The Historical Society is always looking to involve young people in these environmental events, so look out for more events like this one in the future! Also, we would like to extend this message from Kikki Short to all participants; “Just wanted to extend another BIG thank you to all the students who showed up and gave their time and energy to this effort… There will be many happy pollinators next March [and happy people to see the lovely flowers]”.
By the end, the participants all together planted around 700 bulbs. With both parties suggesting that the event was a success, and a joy as well, they’re looking forward to more partnerships to better the environment of Port Chester.