Ridgefield librarian asks students about weeds

RIDGEFIELD — South Ridge Elementary School librarian Emily Crawford got creative to challenge students to read, research and vote online while learning at home during the pandemic. The project focused on one question: Should Crawford weed her garden? It wasn’t just an opinion poll; students had to do their research. Are all weeds bad? Are weeds ever beneficial to a garden? Do weeds really take away from other plants? They read and watched presentations about weeds, and also ventured outside to find weeds and send in photos and discuss their ideas before voting. Crawford then allowed school staff and family members to vote as well, and even contacted children’s book author Robert Munsch (“Love You Forever, “The Paper Bag Princess”) to get his opinion. He voted that she should weed her garden. It turned out that 70 percent of voters said she should weed her garden. While not all weeds are invasive, and some are beneficial, too many weeds in a garden can crowd and steal resources from other plants. Crawford made a video so her students could watch her weed the garden.