About D-E

D-E Green

Welcome

One of the ways that D-E “meet[s] the challenges of a changing world and make[s] it better”, as stated in our mission, is through the various green initiatives in which each division of our school partakes. Supporting these initiatives is done through a three-pronged approach -- through our curriculum both inside and outside of the classroom; ongoing evaluation and modification of institutional habits; and green-oriented campus. From the Lower School’s composting and recycling efforts to the Middle School’s many eco-centric clubs (Green Team, MS DIG [D-E in the Garden] Discovery class students, MS Garden Club) and the Upper School’s Environmental Club and AP Environmental Science courses, along with our School-wide participation in the annual Green Cup Challenge, Dwight-Englewood School is working to support sustainability. We invite you to explore our D-E Green website and its related links, and learn how you can join and support us.

Plantings in the Pollinator Border

List of 22 items.

  • Allium

    This plant, related to the common garlic, produces big, round, softball-sized flowers in shades of purple that will bloom in early summer that last for about three weeks. Alliums are known to have antioxidant, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. Alliums are extremely good at attracting bees and butterflies.
  • Alyssum

    Alyssum is an annual, but it self-seeds well, so it usually comes back in the border each year. The blooming season for Alyssums ranges from June to October, growing up to 3 to 6 inches tall. Alyssums are generally used for garden purposes, such as attracting beneficial pollinators, luring aphids away from vegetable plants, and more. Given its strong, sweet scent, bees are usually attracted to this plant from large distances. These plants attract more helpful insects that keep other pests away from other beneficial plants.
  • Chives

    Chives’ blooming season is from mid spring to early summer. You will find many small, tightly packed, star-shaped florets. Chives are commonly used in cooking. The chives’ blooms are popular among bees and sometimes butterflies too. Chives can possibly also repel aphids, an unwanted pest, which makes it a great addition to gardens.
  • Cleome

    Cleomes will bloom from early summer until frost. They are also known as Spider Flowers or Spider Legs because of its tall, leggy appearance and the shape of its leaves. The flowers, however, are intricate, large, and showy. Cleome species attract a diverse array of native bees, wasps, and butterflies.
  • Common Milkweed

    The rounded clusters of pinkish-purple flowers will bloom from June-August on the Common Milkweed. Although it is potentially poisonous, milkweed sap can also be used as treatment for some medical conditions. The seeds of the Common Milkweed are silky and are wind-dispersed. Common Milkweed is an important nectar source for monarch butterflies. The larvae of Monarch butterflies will feed on the leaves. There are cardiac glycosides in the leaves and stem that allow Monarch butterflies and larvae to be toxic to birds. This kind of milkweed also has a nice vanilla scent, but deer won’t eat it.
  • Creeping sedum

    Creeping sedum, or stonecrop, is an easy-to-grow plant that blooms from July through late fall. Sedums are currently used for research aimed to reveal its anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive mechanisms. When the creeping sedum blooms in the summer and fall, it attracts bees and other pollinators in droves.
  • Elderberry

    Elderberry flowers bloom in the summer in large, multi-flowered clusters that later form purple-black berries.  Although parts of the plant are toxic, the flowers and berries can be cooked and used to boost the immune system. Bees love these flowers!  The deer like to eat the plants, but they spread rapidly anyway.
  • Hyacinth

    Hyacinths bloom in early to mid-spring. When the leaves emerge, it takes about 3 weeks for flowers to open. Our research suggests this plant was used in the folk medicine of England to benefit skin, hair, and health. Bees are the primary pollinators. Unfortunately deer eat the leaves, which sometimes keeps them from flowering in our border.
  • Iris

    Most iris flowers will bloom from late spring to early summer. Irises can be used for cosmetics and some medical uses. Some species will actually produce a second round of flowers during late summer. Irises will attract butterflies and hummingbirds which are both pollinators.
  • Lavender

    The lavender season is usually near the end of June. It lasts about three to four weeks. Lavender can benefit human health and is used in beauty products. The plant is most popular among bumblebees although honey bees will also pollinate them.
  • Lemon balm

    Lemon balm blooms through summer and into fall. The leaves are lemon-scented, oval, and toothed. Lemon balm is a member of the mint family and is considered  a calming herb. They are known to reduce stress and anxiety as well as many other benefits. When brushed, it will emit a fragrant lemony odor. It will also attract bees.
  • Lilac

    The bloom season for lilacs is from mid to late spring. Most shrubs will give off a sweet, floral fragrance. Lilac leaves and flowers have a history of medicinal use -- but this also means they can be toxic, so do not eat them, please. Lilac attracts honey bees as well as butterflies.
  • Monarda

    Monarda, also known as bee balm, begins to bloom in July and will continue to bloom throughout late summer. We have read that these flowering plants can be made into a tea that can fight infections and for fever relief, but we don’t know if this is safe or true, so we do not recommend it. However, we know it attracts a lot of pollinators, including bumble bees, predatory wasps, hummingbirds, and hawk moths. Beneficial insects, such as butterflies, various bees, and more feed on this plant, helping them prevent further damage done by garden pests.
  • Narcissus

    The fragrant flowers of narcissi bloom from late winter to late spring. The bulbs of the narcissus are poisonous, but we have read they were used in ancient times as medicines for their emetic and cathartic effects. The oil from the flowers is also used in perfume. Moths are known to visit many species of narcissus and are the primary pollinator of the species. Narcissus also received its name from the Greek myth.
  • Peony

    The flowering plant of the peony blooms during the months of late spring to early summer. Both honey bees and wild bees are attracted to peonies for their nectar. Other insects, such as ants, are also attracted to peonies. Peonies provide food for ants, and ants protect the blossoms in return from other insects that feed on peonies. The deer do not seem to bother them, and they smell nice and make a good cut flower.  We have read they have many medicinal purposes and were used in ancient times as such.
  • Peppermint

    Mint’s bloom season is July-September. Mint has culinary uses and health benefits when consumed. Mint attracts pollinators as well as other beneficial insects. Many pollinators such as butterflies, beetles, wasps, and bees like mint. It is also wildlife friendly and deer proof.
  • Rhubarb

    Rhubarb normally blooms in the springtime. The flower stalks don’t normally grow on younger plants but are more common on more mature plants that are 3 or more years older. Rhubarb is commonly roasted, sauteed, stewed, or pureed (used for cooking). Although the flowers are wind-pollinated, rhubarb attracts many beneficial insects such as pollinators like bees and ladybugs. The leaves are mildly toxic, so that helps to keep the deer off.  People should eat only the stem-like leaf petioles and preferably cooked.
  • Rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan)

    Rudbeckia blooms in mid-summer through mid-fall. It has large, 3-inch yellow flowers and black centers. The flower petals can also be used to make a medicinal wash. Rudbeckia attracts long-tongued and short-tongued bees (includes honey bees), predatory wasps, butterflies, skippers, moths, and some beetles and flies. Unfortunately, deer sometimes eat the leaves and stems before they get a chance to flower, but they keep struggling on and coming back each year.
  • Sunchoke

    Sunchokes will flower around August and September. Sunchokes, a root vegetable, are commonly consumed by people. The flowers attract pollinators in late summer. These include bees, butterflies, and birds. This plant also provides food for several species.
  • Tansy

    This plant is mildly toxic, which keeps the deer off, and it grows very tall with interesting, feathery leaves. The clusters of yellow flowers bloom in late summer, filling in a gap we would otherwise have in our bloom cycle.
  • Thyme

    Thyme blooms in spring or summer for about three to four weeks. It has tiny, pink, lavender, or white tubular flowers. Thyme is commonly used for culinary purposes. The flowers, leaves, and oil are all used to flavor foods and medicines. Thyme also contains chemicals that can potentially help bacterial and fungal infections and contains many other properties. Thyme is well-liked by bees.
  • Yarrow

    Yarrow is a hardy and versatile perennial. It first blooms in late spring or early summer. Most species will actually continue to bloom intermittently into fall. The flowers have many tiny, tightly-packed flowers that rise above clusters of ferny foliage. They are most commonly yellow but can also come in red or pink. Their ‘special feature’ is their ability to attract butterflies.

Pitch In - How to "Go Green"

You can start going green by:
  • Recycling
  • Using a reuseable water bottle instead of buying bottled water
  • Turning out the lights when you are the last to leave a room
  • Powering down the projector in the classroom when it's not being used
  • Encouraging your parents NOT TO IDLE their cars in the carpool line
  • Walking or biking to school, if you can do so safely
  • Turning down the heat in your home
  • Composting after lunch and at home
  • Buying less STUFF (see any of the "Story of Stuff" links to the right)
  • Learning more about what it means to be green

History of the Space Shuttle White Pine

Pinus strobus

The New Jersey Forest Service, Community Forestry Program in cooperation with the New Jersey Community Forestry Council and with the help of the Demarest Shade Tree Commission provided White Pine seeds to New Jersey native, Astronaut Gregory T. Linteris, Ph.D., to be part of a Seed Germination Kit that traveled aboard the United States Space Shuttle Columbia during the flight of April 4, 1997. This was the 22nd flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the eighty-third overall flight of the Space Shuttle program.  Although the flight was cut short, the seeds traveled at 17,500 mph for a distance of 1.5 million miles. Once the seeds were returned to the New Jersey Forest Service, they were germinated at the program’s greenhouse in Jackson, New Jersey as part of the Heritage Tree Program. 

Since 1996 the Community Forestry greenhouse has grown almost a million tube tree seedlings for outreach during Arbor Day, and 50,000 Atlantic white cedar cuttings for reforestation efforts. Of particular note about seeds in space ~ the germination rate of Eastern White Pine seeds is usually around 10 –14 days. The seeds that traveled on the Space Shuttle germinated in half that time! We believe that this was the first effort to have tree seeds experience the weightlessness of space. The White Pine Trees grown from seed are also a tribute to the seven astronaut crew of the 28th mission of the Space Shuttle Columbia who lost their lives in service to our country on February 1, 2003 during re-entry. The New Jersey Community Forestry Program will document the location of these trees to add to the list of noteworthy trees across the State of New Jersey.

The Space Shuttle White Pine is located in the Jerome Outdoor Classroom.

D-EcoNews

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Green News

List of 2 news stories.

  • Reduce, reuse, recycle!

    D-E plans new construction on the site of Umpleby Hall once we move into the new building in the spring.
    Read More
  • 7th Grade Meadow Maintenance Project

    On this work day, students in the 7th grade science classes reseeded a perennial pocket meadow by the Nettie-Louise Coit Teaching Garden with wildflowers as part of their units on Plants and Pollinators and as part of the year’s focus on conservation issues.
    Read More
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Check Out These Green Links & Resources!

D-E was the first NJ School to earn Green Star certification from the Green Restaurant Association! Visit D-E Green Campus above to learn more. 
Mailing Address: 315 East Palisade Avenue Englewood, NJ 07631
gps: 81 Lincoln Street, Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-9500 Email: d-e@d-e.org
Located in Englewood, New Jersey, Dwight-Englewood is a greater New York City area private school with a rigorous college prep curriculum for boys and girls in preschool through grade 12.