5/6/2014
Reed Hollinshead
ITD Communication
208-334-8881
reed.hollinshead@itd.idaho.gov
Rathdrum's John Brown Elementary will be anything but drab with Mother's Day wildflower planting
COEUR d'ALENE - Nearly 400 grade-schoolers in Rathdrum at John Brown Elementary will see a
variety of new colors in May and June, thanks to the North Idaho office
of the Idaho Transportation Department and 20 lbs. of wildflower seed
donated for a Mother’s Day planting. The planting will take place around 12:15 p.m. on Monday (May 12).
Early in February, ITD was contacted by Mrs. Fonda Stewart’s fourth-grade class at John Brown Elementary in Rathdrum about participating in the wildflower program. Andrea Littlefield, the district’s Adopt-A-Highway coordinator, and Keith Viebrock, of the Vegetation Crew, sprang into action and assembled wildflower packets for the school containing Blanket Flower, Plains Coreopsis, Upright Prairie Coneflower and Showy Goldeneye.
Click here for pictures of the flowers. Click here for a picture of the school class. Viebrock is in the brown jacket in the center. Littlefield is in the red coat next to him.
Littlefield and Viebrock visited the school Feb. 26 to distribute the packets to eager students. Handwritten thank you notes arrived from Mrs. Stewart’s class a few days ago.
Click here for some samples. There are eight pages within this PDF - each page is a different child's response.
Although it was just the fourth-grade class that contacted ITD, the planting will be a school-wide event for the K-6 school in Rathdrum. The wildflowers should sprout 15-45 days after the planting. Wildflowers were chosen for being drought-resistant varieties that thrive in the area’s geography and climate. Five pounds of each of the four seed varieties were distributed for planting.