St. John Bosco students liven up campus with trees

By Ambria Hammel | Nov. 18, 2009 | The Catholic Sun

Students at St. John Bosco Interparish School, who already maintain a garden as part of their science lessons, now have 71 trees to nurture.

More than 560 students and several dozen parents and community volunteers planted the four-to-eight-foot tall trees — a fair mix of mesquite, fig, ash, palo verde and four other varieties — as part of the annual “Trees for Success” program Nov. 5. The Arbor Day Foundation and The Home Depot Foundation have sponsored the program for the last four years.

Trees for Success selected St. John Bosco and 12 other school, park and community housing sites nationwide based on its need for trees, local support, student involvement and plan for upkeep.

The need at St. John Bosco was clear. The 10-year-old campus was supposed to have far more than the estimated two-dozen or so scattered about the 20-acre site.

“As we were looking at the drawings of the backyard, the trees were the first thing that were removed in order to save some money,” Shelley Conner, principal, told students during a pre-planting ceremony.

Turns out, about 70 trees were missing.

Parents and administration increasingly noticed their absence over the years.

“We’ve always had conversations and personal experiences, ‘Boy, we’d like some shade,’” said Bill Mager, chair of the school’s facility committee.

When he heard Trees for Success was coming, Mager used parent expertise and connections to the school’s advantage. A landscape designer helped select the type of trees and their best location and another parent connection brought in equipment days before the planting celebration to quickly pre-dig the holes.

Members of the school’s Conserve and Preserve club oversaw each planting. They said the students were excited to learn how to plant a tree they could call their own.

Every student helped plant the trees with their class, whether it was simply patting down the dirt after an adult volunteer filled the hole in or individually filling in the dirt by the handful or by the shovelful. Seventh- and eighth-graders handled the planting themselves. In less than 70 minutes, each grade level planted, and sometimes irrigated, all 71 trees.

Now St. John Bosco has several trees lined up outside most classrooms — including a kindergarten wing that opened in August — and along the perimeter of the athletic field. They will not only provide shade and cleaner air for years to come, but create educational opportunities and establish a legacy for a school that is still without its own identifying logo.

Mark Derowitsch, public relations manager with the Arbor Day Foundation, challenged the students to take ownership of the trees and return to campus with their future family to check on their growth.

He also talked about the importance of regularly interacting with nature. Derowitsch said studies have shown that those students develop better skills for learning and for social interactions.

Fr. Gary Regula, pastor of St. Benedict Parish, touched on the life-giving nature of trees and compared that to their education, which provides many opportunities and opens many doors, he said.

“As we look at trees, we see how they change and grow, just like we do in our faith journey in our everyday journey,” Fr. Regula said. “God gives us the opportunity to take care of it and ensure that they have what they need to grow.”