Norristown in Bloom
THE HALF-DOZEN FOURTH GRADERS are supposed to be hard at work weeding garden beds with their science class at Gotwals Elementary School in Norristown, Pennsylvania. But for a moment on this spring day, the plants will have to wait. The kids have made a discovery.
“It just moved!”
“I can see the head!”
“Can we touch it?”
A garter snake has scaled an overgrown weed to catch a few rays. “Doesn’t it look like a branch?” an educator asks. “Nature lets it hide in plain sight.”
The students huddle for a closer look at the harmless reptile as the conversation turns to native plants. Across the playground, other students wielding kid-size binoculars scour the skies for birds. A third gaggle, armed with gloves and garbage bags, train their eyes on the ground to collect litter.
Buzzing around the scene is Carrie Barron, manager of the nearby John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove. A tall, genial woman with a perpetual smile, Barron exudes roll-up-your-sleeves enthusiasm. The kids watch attentively as she demonstrates how to coax goldenrods and bleeding hearts from
