Decorah High School students plant flowers Friday for an outdoor science classroom

Decorah High School students headed outdoors on Friday morning to plant some flowers and plants outside the new entrance to the high school.

The gardens will become part of several science-related activities in the school. 

A grant from the Living Highway Trust Fund is paying for a new butterfly garden at the school.  The garden will serve as an outdoor classroom for science activities for students in the high school's Life Skills Program.

An Iowa DNR REAP CEP grant will help pay for 13 iPads and for a variety of activities that will allow students to travel to various locations to learn about plants, gardening, butterflies, rivers, fish and birds.

Finally, a Tierney Brothers grant will pay for an interactive SMART board and a projector for use to help students learn more about weather, with the goal of having the students give a weekly weather report to all of the students at the high school.

Life Skills Porgram teachers Michelle Nesteby and Michelle Monreal and Science teach Brad Johansen are in charge of the projects.