![The chickens that live in Lowell’s school garden have been removed due to a rat infestation. According to AP Environmental Science teacher Shawn Laureyns, the rat problem has been persistent and worsening, despite attempts to rid the garden of rats using pest removal strategies. AP Environmental Science teachers ultimately decided to remove the chickens in an attempt to decrease the severity of the rat infestation. “When we were feeding the chickens, the rats were eating probably half their food,” Laureyns said. “During COVID, the rat population just exploded. We tried a couple of things [to remove them], but they come back really fast when there’s food and water.” According to Laureyns, the group of chickens that were living in the garden have been sold on Craigslist, but he hopes to introduce a new group of chickens to the garden during the spring semester.
The garden is maintained by students in AP Environmental Science classes, and many students enjoyed spending time with the chickens during garden work days. Junior Roman Dion is disappointed about the removal of the chickens, feeling that they were a positive addition to the garden. “I would go down to the chicken coop every Friday and say hi to all eight of them,” Dion said. “They brought this sense of enthusiasm to Lowell that’s gone now, it’s an emotional time.” Similarly, junior Django Nelson is saddened by the loss of the fun experience that the chickens provided to his AP Environmental Science classes. “The chickens were a really fun vibe everyday, it was great,” Nelson said. “I’ll miss the bald one, he was my favorite.” As the president of Lowell’s Music for Chickens club, which performs music for the chickens in the garden, senior Gloria Wu is unhappy about the detrimental impact that this removal will have on her club. “We are all really sad because we love the chickens and that’s the big draw in our club,” Wu said. However, she understands the importance of addressing the rat infestation. “We will just keep playing our music and wait for the day we can see the chickens again,” she said.
Caption by Serena Miller
Photo by Alex Hohn
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