MPES Green Program

We are thrilled to announce that it is likely that we will be receiving trees and shrubs from PBC Environmental Resource Management as part of a mitigation project to complete the planting portion of our Habitat Restoration!!! We met with members of ERM and the School District yesterday and it went very well. Our Habitat Restoration Team Members are creating the plant list now. The project will need to be officially approved by the District (although it sounds like that should not be a problem) and then be officially approved by ERM in January. If all goes well, planting would start in Feb/March and the entire field would be restored with native trees and shrubs. On December 14th, I will be presenting a plan to raise money for a nature path at the Grade Chair Teacher meeting. After teachers give feedback to Mrs. Quinones, she will decide if we are allowed to go forward with raising the money to build the path, including some interpretive signs. Because the Green Task Force is being asked to also raise money for 5 years of maintenance, we will probably need to eliminate the plans for the 30'x30' shaded learning area. The price for the nature path with interpretive signs and 5 years of maintenance is estimated to be $30K. We would love to hear your feedback!

The October rains filled our wetland, providing habitat to many native birds, including Great Egrets, Wood Storks, Great Blue Herons and schools of ducks. The wetland provides an area for the water to slowly filter down into the soil (rather than running off into a storm drain and out to sea). The filtration process removes pollutants as the water slowly moves through layers of soil before reaching the Biscayne Aquifer, our main source of drinking water. We are so fortunate to have this incredible learning opportunity right here in our backyard at Morikami Park!

Log on to our website at
www.morikamiparkgreenpage.org to find out more about how teachers may use our planned outdoor learning area to teach IB and science curriculum.

Welcome Check out http://morikamiparkgreenpage.org! Home Page