Fremont Middle School students pitch in at community garden

Fremont Middle School sixth-graders stood in the rain Tuesday taking pictures, learning about bees and measuring areas for improvement at the Fremont Township community garden.

"Since we are literally right down the road, it's a great project for our personalized learning," said Don Doll, a sixth-grade math teacher at the Mundelein school. "The kids are taking some community responsibility."

For the past year, the students have been working in the garden - harvesting vegetables, shoveling mulch and removing seeds from annual flowers - as part of their studies on agriculture. On Tuesday, the prepared the garden for the cooler weather ahead, added new signs and created bug habitats to attract insects such as ladybugs, bumblebees and lacewings that support organic gardening techniques.

"We are going to put up signs so people walking into the garden can find the water plants and the bug hotel," student Finn O'Malley said as he measured areas in the garden with his classmates. "It's fun, other than the weather, but it will be good for the community."