Logan Smith hammers in a post designating Butler Catholic School's garden as an Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania Certified Backyard Habitat on Thursday, May 30. Eddie Trizzino/Butler Eagle
After an entire school year of gardening, Butler Catholic School became the first school to become a Certified Backyard Habitat through the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania on Thursday, May 30.
The school received a visit Thursday from Nick Stahlman, wildlife habitat educator for the society, who reviewed the habitat in the school’s courtyard area and found it reached all the markers for a good wildlife habitat.
According to Stahlman, the Audubon Society looks at how an outdoor area is fitted to host local wildlife and plants, which involves several review points from officials of the society.
“We evaluate a few different things: the presence of native plants, how they are addressing threats to wildlife,” Stahlman said. “From there, we’re looking at wildlife stewardship, from making sure there is water sources for animals or habitat and ... how they are doing clean water.”
Rae Harrison, director of environmental programming at Butler Catholic, submitted an application to the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania at the beginning of the school year. She spearheaded environmental education at Butler Catholic at the start of the school year, and has brought the courtyard from a garden site to a full-fledged wildlife habitat suitable for bugs, birds and other creatures.
Fifth-grade students at Butler Catholic School helped place a sign designating the school's garden as a Certified Backyard Habitat on Thursday, May 30, after a visit from Nick Stahlman, wildlife habitat educator for the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. Eddie Trizzino/Butler Eagle
Harrison said building a partnership with the Audubon Society will benefit the school in other ways, aside from its new certification as a good wildlife habitat.
“I’m hoping to have him come back and do programming,” Harrison said, “and to use it as a speaking point for the kids when they do tours of the gardens.”
While the certification is a positive mark for Butler Catholic, Harrison said the work students put into it over the year has taught them the overall benefits of environmental stewardship. She and Stahlman agreed that the more people and schools pursue a certification like this, the better.
“Super excited to be able to use that,” Harrison said. “You can talk about how you can get it, it spreads and more people want to do it, and the more people who do it, the better for insects and the better for us.”
