Joining just 28 other schools in the state, Momauguin School unveiled its new schoolyard habitat, celebrating the nearly year-long culmination of grant money, sponsorships, and the hard work of town employees and Momauguin students alike.

The schoolyard habitat is a project sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) that seeks to create outdoor classrooms that are effective as educational tools in addition to being a sustainable wildlife habitat.

The project began in September when Principal Diane McKinnon received an email from the USFWS regarding the program.

“We had taken down a playground that many were sad to see go, but it was splintered and it was out of compliance and it was time,” she said during the unveiling ceremony on June 5. “We’ve come a long, long way.”

Having never applied for a grant before, McKinnon decided that this was the one to go for.

“The habitat is a place where our students, teachers, our community and our families can explore, investigate, and problem solve while developing a greater respect for our natural world,” said Momauguin physical education teacher Liz Franco-Spano, who hosted the unveiling ceremony and was one of the principal planners of the habitat.

The program is meant to be a school project, with each participating school creating its own environment.

Funds for the project were provided by a grant applied for by McKinnon as well as donors and sponsorships from local businesses such as Audubon Connecticut, East Haven Builders, and others.

The town itself pitched in with guidance and labor, too.

“Without…public works, this could not have happened,” said Franco-Spano.

Franco-Spano said the work supporting the project was thorough and rigorous. With the guidance of the USFWS, Franco-Spano and others researched the requirements for the habitat and traveled all over to see what other schools had done.

Students from throughout the district helped to put the project together. At Momauguin, classes helped to take measurements, plant and mulch the area, and even design the habitat’s sign.

East Haven High School senior Jonathan Macao dedicated his capstone project, an independent study graduation requirement, to building planters for the habitat.

In part, the goal of the program is to create green spaces and sanctuaries for pollinators and migrating birds. It also provides students with a place to go and interact with nature.

“The Next Generation Science Standards and our current resources align very nicely with using our habitat as a place for students to further their learning,” said Momauguin Principal Diane McKinnon.

Kindergarten through 5th graders at Momauguin study science topics related to plants, animals, and life structures and living systems and will now have the gardens planted in the habitat and the animals that visit them as examples.

The habitat will also provide a place for students to simply see nature.

“The habitat will be a quiet place to study, think, rest, and relax. Students can write poetry in our garden or create art,” said McKinnon. “We believe the possibilities are endless.”

She hopes that students will learn from the habitat, and take those lessons with them when they leave school. Franco-Spano said that is already happening, as students are taking gardening lessons home to their parents.

“In addition to all of the academic learning that will take place, students will learn to care for something other than themselves, find success and failure with their plantings, gain a greater understanding of everyone’s role in being responsible for our community and its care,” said McKinnon.