St. Paul Lutheran in Lakeland

PLT School Coordinator: Deb Wagner

St. Paul Lutheran has continued their commitment to environmental education with creativity and enthusiasm again this year. During the 2006-2007 school year, students began a hydroponics garden using rain barrels for irrigation. Their hard work has paid off in the form of an Ag Grant which allowed them to purchase a shed to house supplies. Each grade also cares for a conventional garden and donates harvests to the Food Pantry. Remaining produce and garden waste are fed to the fortunate inhabitants in the Tortoise Garden where injured box tortoises are nursed back to health and released in the wild. Next year’s plan involves caring for birds as well and the students have been preparing by planting gourd vines to provide nests for the Bird House Project. St. Paul is excited The City of Lakeland has installed an Osprey nest pole on campus and everyone is looking forward to observing the birds’ activity.

Deb Wagner, PLT School Coordinator, was named Agriculture teacher of the year. Congrats Deb! While assisting Florida PLT with a research project looking at student’s interest in reading and nature, she developed an idea for literature gardens around campus. The students are writing poetry about nature and posting it outdoors for people to enjoy as they look at the gardens. At the end of the school year the students were working on a tree walk. They are using trees to help tell events in history or describe a person’s character from history.

Contact St. Paul Lutheran for additional information about their programs.


Creation care week creating a literature garden preK backyard plants planting a tree on campus reason for a flower poem