SPARK Sprouts

It’s thyme to start our indoor herb garden! Last week, a 3rd grade class started 9 different herbs and we are already seeing sprouts. This is all thanks to a generous donor who bought the supplies from my wish list. @TerryHarness @STEMbieda

If anyone wants to participate in the GA Pollinator Census this weekend, the lantana in front of @aps_spark is an ideal location. Visit ggapc.org for details. @TerryHarness @STEMbieda

This space used to bother me. It was an ugly patch of dirt. I got some donated raspberry and blackberry vines, had some students plant them, and added mulch. Less than a year later, we have a cute berry patch. Now this spot makes me happy. @TerryHarness @STEMbieda

One of my favorite parts of the day is reading a story to 1st grade during lunch. The kids love it too. We finished all of @clairefreedman’s Underpants books today because this cutie brought in the last book we needed. @TerryHarness @msbringslid

Introducing rooftop garden hot sauce! I’m not a fan because I like feeling my lips but others have said it’s great. I’m doing a drawing for staff for the bottles I have and almost have enough peppers for one more batch. @TerryHarness @STEMbieda

Students were so excited to finally taste our space tomatoes from @Tomatosphere. They started the seeds way back in February. General consensus is the tomatoes are yummy but disappointing that they don’t turn us into extraterrestrial beings. @TerryHarness @STEMbieda

Busy as a bee this morning putting new plants into the rooftop garden pollinator bed, which is a stop on the Rosalyn Carter Butterfly Trail. Finished just in time before the rain started. @TerryHarness @STEMbieda

New year, new bulletin board. Full disclosure: my very talented daughter did this.

Music educators! Our community grant application for music education is open until August 15th. Apply online at seedandfeedendowment.org/grant-requests/.

It’s going to be a scorcher today. Take a cue from this fiery skipper in the rooftop garden and hydrate. @TerryHarness @STEMbieda

Let’s squash that rumor right now: there will be more than tomatoes in the rooftop garden this summer. Don’t worry though, we still have lots of tomatoes. @TerryHarness @STEMbieda

There’s a lot of sadness with the story of the bees that were stranded at the airport but there’s a silver lining. Children learning to appreciate and protect bees should give us all hope. ⁦@TerryHarness⁩ ⁦@STEMbieda⁩ ⁦@apsupdate⁩ axios.com/local/atlanta/…

Happy Friday from the @APS_SPARK rooftop garden! @TerryHarness @msbringslid @STEMbieda

If you can’t walk/drive by the SPARK rose garden, here’s a picture for your enjoyment. The rose garden is having an epic spring! @TerryHarness @STEMbieda

My daughter got 1st place in the middle school division at the APS art inspired by nature contest with Blue Heron Nature Preserve. The sweetest part of the awards ceremony was the @APSMidtown students who cheered loudly for all the cluster winners.

@BenteenMusic @MusicAtSPARK @washingtonpost We think about 1/3 of the bees survived. But many of the queens were weak and more hives might not make it.

@TheSPARKSprouts @MusicAtSPARK @washingtonpost I read about this...Do you know how many were saved?

One of my photos of the rescued bees is in today’s @washingtonpost. My name is spelled wrong but it still counts.

I have good news about the stranded bees I retrieved from the Atlanta airport on Sunday. The bees are busy building their new home and the queen is laying eggs. They were the only survivors out of 15 packages I brought home. @Delta @igrullonpaz @wabenews

One of the packages from this shipment has been installed in the @APS_SPARK rooftop garden. The queen was weak when we got to her and most of her bees died but we are trying our best to save them. Out of the 15 packages I took, 13 were dead. @TerryHarness @STEMbieda

I asked this sweet kid if he was wearing his bee jacket because it was Earth Day. He said no, he wanted to dress like me. 💚💚💚 @TerryHarness @STEMbieda