Ms. Palo's Students Plant in the Native American Garden

On December 9 Ms. Palo's 4th graders learned about some native plants and planted in the Native American Garden.  They planted California poppy seeds and narrow leaf milkweed. We discussed how the Tongva and Chumash used acorns, deer grass and California poppies. Acorns were ground and made into a paste, deer grass was woven into baskets and the roots of poppies were used to relieve toothaches.  The California poppy is our state flower. Narrow leaf milkweed is a California native plant and monarch butterflies lay their eggs on the plant.

The students also learned that there are common names and botanical names for plants. For example, the coast live oak is the common name and the botanical name is Quercus agrifolia. The botanical name is Latin.

We also discussed what mulch is and how it is used.  The mulch in the Native American Garden keeps weeds from growing and also helps conserve moisture so we don't need to water so often.