ROOTY RASCALS

Since 1984, the Harbor Island Garden Club has sponsored Rooty Rascals, a junior gardening club at Wrightsville Beach Elementary, a K-5 school located on the island of Wrightsville Beach. We work with fifth graders during a year-long, award-winning program to teach them about native plants, gardening, birding, butterflies, and environmental consciousness.  We also make boutonnieres and corsages for each student to wear at their 5th grade graduation. 

​Here's what we're up to now:

 Earth Day 2025

Yearbook Cover Contest

New this year: Our Rooty Rascals will be creating their own Yearbook to chronicle their year. Here's a sampling of some of the Yearbook covers the 5th graders created.

Arbor Day Picture Contest

We challenged our Rooty Rascals to create pictures of trees in honor of Arbor Day. They were so excited about the project that we opened the contest to the whole school. We are blown away by their creativity. 

Audubon: Bird Signs 

Rooty Rascals partners with the NC Audubon Society's Bird Steward Program to help educate visitors about protecting the nesting shore birds on the southend of Wrightsville Beach as well as on Masonboro and Lea Islands. The fifth graders create new signs each Spring that are transferred to metal signs and posted around the nesting area. During nesting season, Audubon volunteers are happy to give tours! Thank you Rooty Rascals, Audubon , and the Wrightsville Beach School marine science coordinator for helping to protect our nesting shore birds! 

Christmas Tree Decorating Contest Winners

The Rooty Rascals fifth graders WON the 2022 Wrightsville Beach tree decorating contest using decorations they made themselves from litter they also picked up themselves during a beach cleanup. Congratulations Rooty Rascals!

Planting the Garden

Harbor Island Garden Club built raised beds at Wrightsville Beach Elementary to teach all the kids at the school about planting vegetables and eating healthy. The kids plant and tend the garden and, of course, enjoy what they grew.

Wrightsville Beach Elementary: Plant, Animal, Bird and Habitat ID Boards

Check this out! We are thrilled to unveil our 2020-21project with Rooty Rascals: Identification Boards. Printed on weather and hurricane resistant aluminum, the new boards were installed by the marine science teaching pier to help students identify the plants, animals, birds, and tidal zone habitats in the marsh next to Wrightsville Beach Elementary School. A big shout out to Wrightsville Beach resident and marine science teacher Cissie Brooks who compiled the information. Hopefully, these boards are just the first of many environmental education projects to help residents and visitors learn about the wildlife around them. 
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Identifying Salt Marsh Plants
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Identifying Salt Marsh Animals
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Wrightsville Beach resident and marine science teacher Cissie Brooks.
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Exploring the Salt Marsh Habitat
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Identifying Salt Marsh Birds

Fifth Grade Graduation Corsages

Harbor Island Garden Club makes corsages and boutonnieres for the fifth grade students graduation from Wrightsville Beach Elementary. This caps off our Rooty Rascals seasons. Best of luck to all in middle school.
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Corsage for Fifth Grade Graduation at Wrightsville Beach Elementary.