ROSS TOWNSHIP — In the last eight weeks, Ross Middle School students have found and tagged 11 monarch butterflies, one of which migrated to Alabama before it died.

        They are hoping to attract a hummingbird and tag even more butterflies as they add perennials and bushes to a 40-by-40-foot garden surrounding the school's student-run greenhouse outside a science classroom.

        They've been able to move forward on their project thanks to a $2,000 award given to sixth-grade teacher Al Gross, who has overseen the project since a $5,000 grant from Fluor Daniel allowed the school to purchase the greenhouse three years ago. He was recently recognized as an outstanding teacher in ReliaStar's Education's Unsung Heroes Awards program and is eligible for up to $25,000 in other grants that will be announced soon.

        “It was scrub grass out there — a real eyesore,” said Joel Fink, assistant superintendent for Ross Local Schools. “It took some real leadership to involve the community and the kids to do this.”

        The grant money plus proceeds from the students' sale of plants in the greenhouse and aluminum-can recycling upped the budget for the project to $2,700. The money is being spent on seeds and plants, mulch and fertilizer, soils, fencing, landscaping stones and timber, materials for a pond and a compost bin. Eventually a bird house, bird feeders and tables will be added.

        Each day, students volunteer to work either in the greenhouse watering plants and tending to their upkeep, or they're out in the garden digging holes to lay timber, mark paths or add plants. Sixth-graders design the different areas of the garden, which eventually will include herbs besides perennials native to the area.

        “At home it's not fun to pull weeds but here it is. We do it as a group,” said sixth- grader Christina Stoffer. “I think it's kind of cool Mr. Gross trusts us with this stuff — all these tools.”

        Seventh-grader Matt Smith said his group tried to choose the most colorful perennials to get people's attention.

        “I was surprised at how beautiful it looks,” he said. “When you get the seed it might not look so good but it grows into something beautiful.”

        Zach Slinker said the students were building up some perennial beds near the garden's perimeter so they could be seen over the landscaping timber.

        Besides using the greenhouse and garden for science instruction, Mr. Gross said students have used math skills to mark off and design smaller areas within the garden.

        Several English essays were also prompted by the project. Reading and critical thinking skills were used when reading catalogs and descriptions of seeds in deciding what to purchase and plant.

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