TEACHERS and TREES Program

 

Teachers and Students making an impact in the Delaware Estuary to restore native habitat...

 

 

 

8 SCHOOLS IN 2008!!!


The Teachers and Trees program is aimed at helping teachers in grades K-12 incorporate trees into their existing curriculum, such as teaching about the importance of trees in the environment, tree identification, and proper tree planting techniques.

" Thank you for the beautiful trees and for your incredible support !   The trees will shade our schoolyards for years to come. And, they will be great focal points for future lessons on native species!  

  Thank you for teaching our students about proper tree planting and care.  They learned a lot, and they were so excited to help with the planting."   Quote from a teacher after the completion of one of the gardens.


 


Check out the eight schools that participated...

Springside School

The Springside School planting day was held on April 25th, 2008 and was a great success with the support of Vivian Williams from Stroud Water Research Center and help from the Springside teachers. The first and second grade classes were involved with the planting and were very determined to dig the holes for the trees themselves. Twenty-three trees and shrubs, including Sweetbay magnolia, bald cypress, and winterberry holly, were planted on a steep bank adjacent to the soccer field where a lot of erosion was occuring. The trees will help secure the soil and prevent erosion while also providing habitat and a beautiful setting for the students and families to watch the sports.

 

Perkiomen Valley Middle School

The Perkiomen Valley Middle School is a large, new campus without much landscaping yet. Vivian Williams worked with the school to plant 26 trees on the campus in order to provide habitat for birds and also provide shade on the open turf of the new campus. River Birch (Betula nigra), Shadblow (Amelanchier canadensis), and Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana) were 3 of the 7 species of trees planted on the school grounds. Several classes from the middle school came out to plant on April 30th, 2008 even though it was raining!

 

Ancillae Assumption Academy

The middle school students at Ancillae Assumption Academy planted 17 trees on their school grounds on April 29th, 2008. The trees added to the beautiful gardens surrounding the school and will provide more habitat as well as erosion control. Many of the same species were planted as well as Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia) and Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum).

Spring-Ford Middle School

Mary DeAngelis, the Environmental Education Teacher, got three schools from the Spring-Ford Area School District to participate in the Teachers and Trees Program. At the Spring-Ford Middle School, many students helped plant a bare bank surrounding their playground. The soil was very compacted from recent construction, but the students and teachers were determined to dig hole big enough for the trees and did not want to return to class until their job was complete. The trees will help prevent erosion onto the playground, and the students are also protective of their newly planted trees and make sure no one throws a ball at or runs over them.

 

Brookes Elementary School

Brookes Elementary School is one of the three schools in Spring-Ford Area School District, and 12 trees were planted here by the third and fourth grade classes. Red Chokecherry (Aronia arbutifolia), Fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus), and Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) are three of the species planted here. This was another beautiful planting day on April 15th, 2008, and it was a great success with the help of Vivian Williams and the teachers once again!

 

Evans Elementary School

Evans Elementary is the third school in the Spring-Ford Area School District. Twenty-seven trees and shrubs were planted on the school grounds in and around the newly established native garden Mary DeAngelis started in 2006. The native garden has many species of birds and insects already thriving in it, so these new trees and shrubs are adding to the habitat and providing a corridor to the forest adjacent to the school. The students were very helpful and are very invested in taking care of their native plant garden.

 

 

Hatboro-Horsham School District and Jarrett Nature Center

Eighty five trees and shrubs were purchased to plant in the Jarrett Nature Center, the outdoor classroom built by the Hatboro-Horsham School District. Invasive species were recently removed from the Nature Center woods, and these trees will replace the invasives so they cannot return.

 

School in Rose Valley

The students at the School in Rose Valley are very accustomed to getting muddy because they are encouraged to work on the school's small farm and in their greenhouse, so they were ready to get to work to plant their trees in April, 2008! The school grounds are surrounded by woods, but the area we planted is on a hill leading to Ridley Creek. Therefore, the trees will help prevent pollution from stormwater runoff entering the creek.