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College Park Friends Community School fifth-grader Amelia Langer loves working in her mother's garden at her Takoma Park home.

"It's fun putting the plants in," she said. "When you plant stuff it becomes food for the bees, deer, squirrels and even possums."

On Nov. 25, she got a chance to show off her skills when 32 fifth- and sixth-graders from the Friends School planted native flowers in a meadow at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt.

The students participated in NASA's initiative to create meadows in the outdoor areas of Goddard. The students were working on a smaller meadow used as a trial, and learned about sustainability and how indigenous plants help the surrounding environment.

"I think there are a lot of animals around here and it's good to get them food," Amelia said. "It's also good to do community service with our neighbors."

Alan Binstock, an architect for NASA, said Goddard currently looks like a "typical business park," but wants to make the undeveloped areas more natural.

"Meadows reduce lawn mowing and horticultural plantings," he said. "We reduce site maintenance costs once the meadows are established. We create a landscape which invites a natural habitat. They reduce water and pollutant runoff."

Connie Belfiore, director of advancement and development at the Friends school said hands-on learning resonates with children much more than memorization.

"You can talk about it, but when they actually plant a meadow, they'll learn so much more," she said. "They'll want to give back to the environment."

Fifth-grader Kosta Baranov of College Park said he liked the project because he likes to get his hands dirty.

"I learned how meadows are made," he said. "I learned what type of plants they are and why they're important. It helps stop erosion and helps animals."

Sixth-grader Vanessa Phillips of Greenbelt said she enjoyed the new experience.

"I like digging a lot," she said. "I think it's cool we came to NASA. I've never been here and I think it's cool they're trying to make it pretty and do good for the environment."

Vanessa was also excited to learn about how the meadow will affect wildlife in the area, which was a discussion the class had before starting to dig.

"It's better for us to experience it," she said.

E-mail Jonah Schuman at jschuman@gazette.net.