Located at the south end of the high school, the Courtyard Garden is a fully enclosed eco-habitat featuring raised garden beds and a variety of native plantings. Designed as a living classroom and peaceful retreat, the garden supports local pollinators, birds, and beneficial insects through thoughtfully planned zones planted with New Jersey native species and sustainable practices.
Zone 1: Native Pollinator Garden
This mounded garden features a beautiful serviceberry tree surrounded by native perennials such as echinacea, mountain mint, columbine, goldenrod, bee balm, butterfly milkweed, and a naturally occurring pokeberry. Planted by students on Earth Day 2025, this space provides critical habitat for pollinators and seasonal interest throughout the year.
Zone 2: Amphitheater Seating and Bird Observation Area
With built-in bench seating arranged in an amphitheater style, this area invites students and staff to relax and observe nature. Set beneath the shade of a redbud tree, it offers a perfect view of the birdbath and feeder, creating opportunities for quiet reflection or outdoor learning.
Zone 3: Habitat and Composting Area
This zone includes native shrubs and vines that provide shelter and nesting space for birds and pollinators. It's also home to the garden’s composting system. A donated turning composter supports hot composting, while separate piles are used to create nutrient-rich leaf mold and cold compost. These materials are returned to the beds at the beginning and end of the growing season to enrich the soil naturally.
Zone 4: Vegetable and Flower Beds
Here you'll find three rows of no-dig, mounded and wood-sided raised beds. These are used to grow a rotating selection of vegetables, leafy greens, cut flowers, and cover crops. This area supports the school’s farm-to-table initiatives and gives students hands-on gardening experience.
Zone 5: Wildflower and Cut Flower Bed
This mounded bed is dedicated to wildflowers and cut flower crops. It adds vibrant color to the garden and supports a range of pollinators throughout the growing season.
Zone 6: Student Habitat Project
A repurposed sandbox has been transformed into a raised planting bed with compost and soil amendments. Still a work in progress, students from the Environmental Science Club plan to sow native perennial seeds and build birdhouses to install at the corners—creating a new habitat space of their own design.
Zone 7: Mixed Pollinator Bed
This diverse planting includes both native and nonnative perennials such as aster, goldenrod, false indigo, lamb's ear, echinacea, allium, Culver’s root, woodland sunflower, bee balm, and spring-blooming bulbs. It offers extended blooming seasons and a wide variety of nectar sources for pollinators.
Zone 8: Shade Garden (In Progress)
Tucked into a cooler, shaded corner of the garden, this area will feature plantings suited to lower-light conditions. Plans are underway to introduce native shade-loving plants and potentially a small wildlife-friendly container pond.
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