Classroom Microhabitats

Gardens can be well-groomed with precise rows of petunias and squash, or they can be unkempt and more natural. The gate can be kept closed, protecting the vegetables and flowers, or it can remain ajar- letting the wild creep in. Pruned, planned, weeded, tended- these all evoke an image of award winning horticultural masterpieces. All perfectly arranged, meticulously maintained. They are a sight to be seen and not touched. To sit in and admire, rather than to climb in and play. You can wander, but you must stick to the path. Stay off the grass.

The more organic, free-form, untamed, overgrown field, however more distracting, is often in fact, very disciplined, with a hierarchy in place, for flora and fauna alike. Snakes, beetles and butterflies, roam more freely, with little hindrance in their habitat. Even the most beautiful, groomed and cultivated of gardens, has the same creatures, they just simply stay hidden, for fear of removal. Nature untouched or contained, always welcomes the native dwellers, in some fashion. This begs the question; can we ever truly have free reign over nature? We can sculpt and manipulate, but can we ever fully tame it?

We must accept the indigenous animals and plants, if we want access to the potential energy that runs through the landscape. We must embrace the weeds, if we want to see the flowers sprout from their midst. We can choose to pluck them, a nuisance to most gardeners, to allow more daisies and daffodils to flourish, or we can let them find their path in the shadows. But, we must acknowledge the balance of nature. We must see the garden in its entirety, whether sleek and pristine or messy and unpolished. Both styles are alluring and graceful to someone. While many will choose the perfection of a private, charming space, others will feel more comfortable, trouncing amongst the tall grasses, hidden blossoms and complexity of a lush, agrarian patch.

Microhabitats form in every classroom. Various styles of gardens and wild fields. Students bounce between them effortlessly. They are the cultivators, indeed. Some areas are loud and energetic, others are quiet with only the gentle sound of crickets, reminding us they are there. The climate is dictated by the energy level, the focus and the freedom. The more we place the learning in student hands the calmer the weather. There are stormy seasons, but that is good, every garden needs the rain to thrive. Whether monsoon or sporadic showers, it is the continuity of nurturance that counts. A garden, absent of the hustle and bustle of nature, will never fully flourish.

The insects, the animals, the pollen and seeds- these are the components necessary for any greenhouse, nursery or natural space to develop, rise and prosper. Every flower, every lady bug, every worm aerating the soil, each a contributor to the space, each integral to the cohesion. Gardens, both uncultivated and unkempt and structured and maintained provide a flow of energy and a cycle of existence. We must recognize their uniqueness, embrace their beauty and let nature take its course. This is when the balance arrives. The equilibrium emerges. This is when the gates open and the wild and tamed become one.