Nearly 600 students, teachers, parents and community members turned out at North Trail Elementary in Farmington on May 5 to plant trees and ornamental plants as well as build an outdoor classroom.
The weather was perfect as all classes came outside and learned about tree care and planting. Every student had a chance to participate in the planting of the school’s environmental area.
“Tree Trust has done a wonderful job with this event and throughout the year,” said Katie Belmont, North Trail Elementary science teacher and Green Team coordinator. “They have provided a real hands-on learning opportunity for our students. We thank Dakota Electric for making this possible.”
Dakota Electric has sponsored the program at 14 area schools over the years.
“Tree Trust has been an excellent organization to partner with,” said Brenda Kadlec, Dakota Electric’s environmental coordinator. “They handle everything from start to finish, and provide a great educational opportunity for the students.”
Tree Trust helps schools form “Green Teams” made up of teachers, staff, students and parents to set goals, develop a landscape plan and plan for the spring planting day. The organization builds environmental learning into the entire process and in the end schools have an outdoor green space to be enjoyed by all.
