Student receives grant for pollinator garden

Aquinas Academy sophomore Liam Ellis received a $250 grant from the North Area Environmental Council for his pollinator garden.

The pollinator garden at Aquinas Academy, a private K-12 school in Gibsonia, is a student-initiated project created to establish an educational pollinator habitat on the school grounds. The garden will be used as a tool to increase students’ scientific understanding of the importance of pollinators, the factors that are causing the decline of honeybees and other pollinators, and ways that individuals can help protect them.

Phase I of the project was completed in summer 2020 and included extensive soil remediation and planting in an area approximately seven feet by four feet, comprising half the total planned area for the garden. Ellis took on the physical labor of preparing and fertilizing the ground with compost and mulch and planting a variety of pollinator-friendly plants based on recommendations by Audubon staff at Beechwood Farms. Plants installed in Phase I include milkweed, bee balm, coreopsis, coneflower, Russian sage, tickseed, asters and Anise hyssop. Each plant is labeled with both its scientific name and its common name, with an additional student-made sign explaining what a pollinator garden is, why pollinators are critical, and how to help.

The garden will be doubled in size in 2021 to include additional plants.

Dean’s list

Jack Cassidy of Gibsonia was named to the summer 2020 Dean’s List at Columbus State Community College in Columbus, Ohio. To be named to the Dean’s List, a student must have a GPA of 3.5 or higher and be enrolled for six or more credit hours.

P-R grad to wrestle at Baldwin Wallace

Robby Palmieri, a graduate of Pine-Richland High School, is one of eight first-year student-athletes to continue their wrestling career at Baldwin Wallace University.

Because of the covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 fall portion of the Yellow Jacket wrestling season was postponed. The BW wrestling team is slated to begin competition in January 2021.

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Local students part of SRU production

Since theatergoers are unable to attend shows in person due to covid-19, Slippery Rock University’s Theatre Department has decided to bring the theater to patrons’ video screens with its performance of “Home and Belonging.” The mid-October performances were streamed via Zoom. Brandon Pierce, a sophomore communication major from Gibsonia, served as a production assistant. Rachel Simms, a freshman acting major from Gibsonia, was an ensemble cast member.

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