Though winter is just around the corner, Hackley students are already planning for the blooms of Spring. Led by Middle School science teacher Andy Retzloff, science teachers Tessa Johnson’s Ecology class and science teacher Kerry Clingen’s Biology classes, in partnership with kindergarteners in the Lower School, are planting tulip bulbs along the new staircase entering the library from Akin Common. The project, in addition to making Hackley’s campus even more beautiful, has been an fun and engaging teaching tool for both the Lower Schoolers and Upper Schoolers.

Mr. Retzloff spearheaded the project, an initiative from Journey North, a program he has been utilizing on his own for over a decade. Journey North is a free, internet-based program that engages students around the globe in tracking wildlife migration and seasonal change. The students have noted the day they planted the garden and will date the moment the first tulip emerges and the day the first tulip blooms sometime next spring.

The data will then be reported to Journey North and compiled with data from people across the country in order to establish trends and observe the impact of various climates on tulip growth. Mr.Retzloff hopes to keep the project going for years to come to track data over multiple years.

Mr. Retzloff brought the proposition to the administration and was granted permission to pursue the project on Hackley grounds. He then coordinated with HEAL to use part of their budget to buy the tulip bulbs. Buildings and Grounds provided them with topsoil and the students dug seven inch holes deep for each Red Emperor tulip bulb.

Each Ecology student was paired with a younger kindergarten buddy who they planted the tulips with. “It was really fun and rewarding,” said senior Carina Burroughs, a member of Ecology this year, “I had such a great time with them and they were so cute. I’m really excited to work with the  kindergartener I was paired up with later.” Indeed, Mr. Retzloff agrees that the experience was a beneficial experience for all the students involved and plans to continue the project in coming years. “Not only are they paired up for this, they are also paired up for the salamander study we do. They recognize each other so it’s kind of neat. They had a ball with it,” he said.