When Meadow Glens Elementary School teacher Barb Hunt teaches her students about butterflies, which is part of the District 203 second-grade curriculum, she won’t be relying on a textbook. Instead, Hunt and her students will be able to see the metamorphosis just outside their classroom door in the school’s new butterfly garden.
“What a gift this is that we have to share with the kids,” said Hunt, who has been teaching in Naperville for 26 years. “Every year we do the butterfly unit and we talk to the kids about how the malva is their host plant. This year we will be able to show them.”
The butterfly garden was created by Naperville Central High School junior Cameron Hayes, who chose the project in his quest to earn the rank of Eagle Scout. A member of Boy Scout Troop 222, the 16-year-old has been coming to Scout meetings at Meadow Glens since middle school.
“I thought it would be good to give back to the school, because we meet here,” Hayes said. “We asked Mrs. Lynch (Meadow Glens principal) if she had a wish list of things they wanted help with at the school and they suggested a butterfly garden.”
Wish granted.
With conservation in mind, Hayes set out to build a butterfly garden that would be “approachable” to the children. He chose a location that was close to the second-grade classrooms and a design that included a brick path kids could easily navigate without stepping on plants. More than 100 plants, including malva, coneflower, milkweed, allium and aster, serve as an outdoor classroom for the students.
“I like it,” 7-year-old Augie Abdelkodous said. “I like the flowers and the big thing that will water the plants.”
The big thing — a rain barrel — was Hayes’ solution to the lack of a water source. The teen raised funds to purchase the rain barrel by selling holiday wreaths and outfitted it with a drip irrigation hose to keep the garden hydrated.
Hayes needed to enlist a team of volunteers to help with the project as well. From his fellow Troop 222 members to his teammates from Naperville Central High School’s football team and other friends and family, the months of preparation and planning proved to be successful.
“I am proud of it,” Hayes said. “I worked really hard on it, and I am glad to see the kids liked it.”
His parents, Cheryl and John Hayes, are also proud.
“We recognize that only five 5 percent of all scouts nationwide earn the rank of Eagle Scout,” Cheryl Hayes said. “It’s a designation he will be able to carry forward with him for life.”
And while the students and teachers at Meadow Glens will benefit from having the garden for years to come, so will Hayes.
“Cameron has grown in this experience,” his mom said. “Not everything went to plan. He learned from those experiences and has grown as a leader.”
Jane Donahue is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
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