Last week, thanks to the efforts of a number of parent volunteers, our students had a chance to help with the Free the Trees project. This is the fourth year for Free The Trees, and classes had the opportunity to sign up for pulling out a lot invasive plants and weeds, and the students all did an excellent job. There were several piles of dirt to add to our forest, to help ensure the many new plants have a healthy start.

One of the latest additions to our forest areas are two outdoor classrooms. These areas can be used by classes. Teachers and students can come down, sit on a boulder, and work on learn something about nature, or perhaps sharing a good book. Some good forest books could be; Joyful Noise by Paul Fleischman, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, or The Lorax by Dr. Seuss. Perhaps students can get their teachers to take them down to these classes on days that are a bit drier than today.

The Free The Trees program has pulled out thousands of invasive plants and weeds, and over 3000 new plants have found homes here in our forest, including wild ginger, wild roses, dogwoods, Saskatoon berry and Oregon grape.

An important part of any child’s education should be a connection to the natural world. We should help children stay connected with the natural world, and encourage them to experience all the joys and wonder that can be found in the forest.

“Each generation takes the earth as trustees.  We ought to bequeath to posterity as many forests and orchards as we have exhausted and consumed.” ~  J. Sterling Morton  

Thanks to the efforts of the Free the Trees volunteers (led by Lea Carpenter, Jim Hunt, Patrick Mooney and their team), and thanks to the teachers and staff and students, we are doing our part to ensure a healthy local forest.

Take care.