SLO County kids raised butterflies and released them in their school garden. Here’s a look

Santa Margarita Elementary School held its second annual butterfly release Wednesday as more than 80 kids joined to set free a batch of the colorful winged insects along with a bunch of ladybugs.

The kids ranged in age from kindergarten to fifth grade and are members of the school’s Garden Club, student Iris Peltier, Garden Club reporter, wrote in a news release.

They released 25 painted lady butterflies after watching them progress through their life cycle during the school year. They also released more than 300 ladybugs.

The project started with each of the school’s 12 classrooms receiving a butterfly grow kit complete with 10 caterpillars. Students were then able to watch them develop, create their chrysalis and eventually hatch, Peltier said.

They were released in the school’s new garden, which was planted in an area that was previously a dirt quad between buildings.

“This club is about more than flowers and butterflies,” Garden Club adviser and instructional assistant Katherine Jonsson said. “This club is about making ordinary spaces into beautiful places anyone can stop at to rest and enjoy the tiny miracles of nature.”

The garden, funded by Santa Margarita’s parent-teacher association, now has become a habitat for butterflies, bees, birds, squirrels and other animals.

“All of us love to take care of the plants and help our garden look nice,” Peltier said in the release.

The butterfly garden has added extra “oomph” to the school’s outdoor area. Some students compared what the outdoor area looked like before and after the build-up of the garden.

“It was brown. There was only dirt and leaves,” said fifth-grader Casey Lambert.

Fifth-grader Michael Schultz agreed.

“A couple years ago it really did not look like this,” Schultz said. “When we released the butterflies last year, compared to this year, I feel like this year was a lot better. They have a bigger space and a lot more plants to live in.”

In addition to making the garden look bright and colorful, students also designed and painted a mural on the school’s kickball wall, along with other improvements.

Jonsson said butterflies are huge pollinators and beneficial for the school’s plants, in addition to being a fun, educational attraction for students to observe.

The students, in return, appreciated the outdoor project.

“She has inspired so many students to love gardening and the school. So I think she should be really proud of herself,” Peltier said of Jonsson.

“This whole project was about teaching them how to build a community,” Jonsson said. “It’s all about taking pride in where you get to be,” referring to Santa Margarita.