You Are My Sunshine Butterfly Garden

The You Are My Sunshine Butterfly and Pollinator Garden received its name from the Field Elementary fifth grade classes of 2024. They proposed three names and the school body voted for their favorite. We were delighted when one of our founding volunteers, Elaine Jeris, realized that we have the perfect acronym for our garden: YAMS! The garden was born in Fall 2023 when staff member, Counselor Raniya Nannoshi, along with volunteers Katy Weiks-Bedoun, Elaine Jeris, Adam Huttenstine and Reed Boskey (Adam and Reed were volunteer consultants from Michiganense Natives Plant Nursery) with the support of principal, Mrs. Latisha Thomas, and Administrative Assistant, Mrs. Julie Forsey, put together garden design ideas and wrote a grant to the Wildflower Association of MI (WAM) and then received the grant in March 2024! They also sent grant proposals to The Plymouth Rotary Foundation and Plymouth Kiwanis Club, which were approved. We are thrilled that our garden team has since expanded to include many talented community and school volunteers, as well as knowledgeable Master Gardener volunteers from the MSU Extension Master Gardener program. We wrote in our proposal to WAM:

Our goals for this project were born out of a desire to provide the best educational environment we are capable of for our elementary aged children, increasing their hands-on learning, improving their mental and physical health, and modeling/learning with them the vital importance of our interconnectedness with nature. Our principal states in her letter of support, “Children learn by having access to real-life experiences. It helps to deepen their understanding of concepts.” We believe they truly need these experiences to guide them to a deeper understanding of their connection to the ecosystems we all rely on for our well being. 

• Ms. Brekke emailed about the fall seed collection activities in the garden, “...student feedback was very positive. You could probably tell while you were here that they were lighting up with curiosity and excitement! They loved the hands-on element and being able to ask questions about what they observed.”

• Ms. Groce emailed, “We sat in the garden in October [2024] while making observations for our weather study in science. Our class family was thrilled to work outdoors among the flowers!”

• Ms. Patterson emailed, “The students were really excited to participate in collecting and sorting the seeds. Next year, I will make a greater effort to better align my plant lessons with the seed collection because it would make the hands-on experience even more impactful. I cannot wait to learn about what is in store for the YAMS garden this spring and how the kids might be able to get their hands into the earth.”

• Quote from parent volunteer, Rachel S.:
  • Our family loves the YAMS garden! My kids are learning to appreciate and respect nature. They look forward to watering plants and finding bugs. They are learning the names of all the flowers and they get excited when they see them in other places around Canton. They are beginning to understand that their actions have an impact on the earth. The YAMS garden has also allowed me to learn and grow. It has given me a way to connect with my grandfather’s legacy. When he immigrated to the United States, he had little more than his knowledge of farming and caring for plants. He used those skills to provide for his family and turn his property into a lush paradise of flowers, trees, fruits, and vegetables. Language barriers prevented me from knowing him more, but I deeply treasure the parts of him that I took in by seeing his work and enjoying the literal fruits of his labor. I am proud to be gaining skills like the ones he had so that I can continue his work!

• Quote from parent volunteer, Carly D.:

  • I have a fourth grader at Field Elementary. I became involved with the YAMS garden volunteer team when he was in third grade. I have been grateful for the opportunity to meet other families who share an interest in beautifying our school by turning a dull ignored corner of our schoolyard into a thriving native pollinator garden. I have been amazed to see how quickly our efforts added something special to our outside space. Many teachers and other staff members have expressed how the garden brightens their days. I have enjoyed meeting new Field Elementary parents, staff, and students by volunteering for YAMS. I have loved being able to share the garden with students during activities such as spring planting and fall seed harvesting. Their curiosity and excitement  are contagious. Watering, weeding, and awareness opportunities have also allowed my husband and our fourth grader to support the garden. My husband observed that families were very excited to learn about the garden when he assisted with an information table at the school open house. My son shared that he enjoyed making new friends with the children of the other volunteering families. He was also excited to see a giant zucchini that was grown! The YAMS garden has provided me, my family, and our school campus with joy, learning opportunities, and an increased sense of community. It’s an important project that I am proud to support, and one I hope will continue enhancing Field Elementary long after my son has graduated.