SUQUAMISH — In the backyard of Suquamish Elementary, looking out over the basket marsh Gel’kali, a yellow excavator and a dozen shovels powered by the earth-friendly Pond Kids broke ground Oct. 10 for the school’s latest environmental undertaking.

With a dump truck full of grant-accruing work emptied out by the school’s Parent Teacher and Student Association, Suquamish Elementary received $5,000 through a Lowe’s Charitable and Educational Foundation toolbox for an education grant to build a bird observatory near the school’s library.

It is good news for project leader Terri Day and even better news for the school’s Early Birds bird watching group, which meets before school to peer into the world of ornithology.

“The birds can stay here. There are a lot of other places they can go, but they’re being torn down,” said Suquamish third-grader Izumi Nance. “The birds will be safe here.”

Following two years of work in securing the grant and planning the project, Day and the school’s PTSA employed Michelle Fortier-Megert of Dragonfly Landscape Design to create the bird-beckoning garden. On Oct. 10, she and an excavating crew from Skelley Works shared the exciting first step toward reeling in birds with Suquamish’s Pond Kids as they broke ground for the observatory.

“Lawn areas are really thirsty and high maintenance, and they don’t give much back,” Fortier-Megert said of the land’s previous state. “I want to create a garden that is kid friendly and a bird-friendly observatory — that means no prickly plants, no poisonous plants.”

Fortier-Megert is planning for an array of native plants to fill the 40- by 30-foot space, including ornamental shrubs and small trees for nesting and fruit- and berry-bearing plants to entice a hummingbird population in the spring. Each plant in the garden will also be native and bought from a local nursery, Fortier-Megert said.

“It’s a natural way to garden if you go with native plants, the earth is crying out for native plants,” she added.

In addition, Northwest Rock is donating a batch of boulders for seating in the large garden area. The natural setting is expected to provide a comfortable habitat for birds as well as students as school officials are hoping to use the area as an outdoor classroom. The garden/observatory will be an extension of the school’s already environmentally educational grounds, including the Gel’Kali basket marsh which students visit for study about once a month.

“We have so many of, what I consider, ground-breaking projects,” Day said, noting Gel’Kali and the school’s award-winning composting program. “This will be a wonderful area for the kids to sit and conduct class or just look at the garden, it all fits together.”

“I really want you to get involved in whatever way you can,” Fortier-Megert asked of the Pond Kids present at the groundbreaking ceremony.

The project is expected to be completed by December with a grand-opening ceremony slated for Nov. 30, Day said.