On March 30th, the Cass High School Science Club will be teaming up with National Honor Society to plant butterfly gardens on the front retention pond.

The purpose of a butterfly garden is to encourage the survival of native butterfly species by planting host plants in a certain area. Encouraging the butterfly population in an area is essential because of butterflies’ role as an indicator species of the health of the environment as a whole; a declining butterfly population may indicate a decline in an everything population.

The idea for the butterfly garden project was not originally claimed by the Science Club, but rather by a group of students in AP Environmental Science.

“It originally started as an in-class project, but we’ve actually expanded it to the whole school, now. It’s super exciting, and I can’t wait to see the progress we can make by the end of spring,” says Science Club president Ashlie Swanson.

The project is being carried out at the retention pond at the front of the school. The area suffers from intense soil erosion, making it difficult for plants to naturally take root there. As a result, an entire side of the pond is bare dirt and, visually, extremely unattractive. The butterfly garden project will be able to serve a dual purpose in encouraging native species to make Cass High their home and beautifying an unappealing area of the school.

“We’re actually building structures that will both prevent erosion and provide a habitat for the butterflies,” says Science Club Secretary Matt Busse. “We’re using elevated cross ties to make the area suitable for vegetation.”

The idea to use the retention pond as a home to the butterfly gardens comes from yet another in-class AP Environmental Science Project.

“My group was focused on preventing soil erosion around the pond,” says Emily Tracy. “We did a lot of research and put in a lot of time, but the butterfly garden project will be the capstone. It’s going to be nice to see the project through so that the area is more environmentally healthy and visually appealing.”

The Science Club is teaming up with the National Honor Society to build and plant the gardens on Friday, March 30th during the school day. To get involved, see Science Club sponsor Mr. Bohannon or National Honor Society sponsor Mr. Morris.