THUNDER BAY — Nor'wester View Public School students got their hands dirty planting 14 trees in their school's playground on Thursday.
The effort aimed to allow students, before they left for the summer, to make the school’s playground a “greener and more beautiful place.”
“The idea of the project is as the trees grow and the students’ legacy with us and the connection we have, so will the trees and we hope that they will always be here for them to remember and be represented at our school,” said Nor'wester View's principal, Kristi Lees.
This sense of ownership and meaning behind the project made it more beneficial to the kids, according to Lees.
Of the 14 trees, the school chose 10 to represent Grades JK to Grade 8, one for the new JK students coming in the fall and another to represent the community.
“We’re very grateful for the land that we get to learn here together with and the people who are a part of it and then we also can’t forget about the staff who inspire our students and help them grow,” said Lees.
School staff, with the help of Rutter Urban Forestry, taught students about the different types of trees, what makes them special and unique, their qualities and which trees grow best for the climate around the school.
These trees were later ranked and voted on to be planted by the students.
“I’m excited for the maple trees because then we get to tap them and then we can get syrup from them,” said Lucy Lesniewski, a Grade 4 student who learned how to plant a tree for the first time for the project.
Lesniewski said that planting trees is important because there will be more shade in the schoolyard and it’ll be greener.
Sophie Roy, a Grade 5 student who also found it really fun to plant the trees, added that knowing that they would have new trees and that they would look really pretty was fun.
Alongside Roy, her classmate, Mayla Moulsy, also learned that the white pine they helped plant would grow up to 100 feet.
“It’ll be fun to watch it grow,” said Moulsy.
She said she learned there are many different types of pretty trees.
In addition to the white pine and sugar maple, students planted red pine, white spruce and other maples.
Lees said it really took a lot of work for school board members and Rutter Urban Forestry to help the school make it all possible, get the trees sourced and then get them there.
The grant process also took a lot of work, she added.
As part of their work with Rutter, Lees said they ensured that the land is prepped and ready so that as more students come, they have the ability to add more trees on their own now that they’ve learned with them how to plant and everything needed to be done to ensure they last.
“Our plan is moving forward for every new group of students that attend our school. There will be a tree planting for them, too,” said Lees.
She said they can come back for years to come even after they leave and know that “their mark is here.”
"It is a really great moment when good things happen to your school and we’re really grateful, not only for this opportunity, but for the help of their parent council team, who has contributed to make sure that this project could come to life,” said Lees.
Lees hopes that everyone helps take care of the trees and lets the trees live there for a long time so they can grow big and provide shade, among all the other positive attributes that trees offer to communities.
The tree planting was supported by a grant from Trees Canada, which the school received in the spring, after Lees and some members of the parent council team applied in the fall.
