TREES blooming at Greenfield Elementary

TREES stands for ‘The Rural Education Environmental School,’ and is a program aimed at teaching the children about healthy outdoor living. The program is funded through donations and time put in by students, teachers and parents. “We have such a beautiful piece of property here and nothing was done,” says Dianne Rogers, a retired teacher and volunteer at the school. “We needed to develop the outdoor area so that we could incorporate physical fitness and health issues that aren’t stressed as much as we would like them to be.”

The school started with decorative shrubs planted by the children, and native tree species around the property. They have also built a butterfly garden in the back, and plan on purchasing butterfly nets and magnifying glasses for the students to use. “We wanted to provide them with an outdoor classroom,” says Linda Freeman, a substitute teacher and volunteer with the project.

TREES is an ongoing project; the next step involves buying materials for ‘square metre gardening.’ In the spring, the children will plant their own gardens, something different each year, with the idea of using what they grow for learning.

As they develop the program, they also have plans to purchase scientific equipment and books, some of which have already been added to the library. All this will relate to outdoor living, science and physical education. “In the fall, they will do many things with what they grow,” says Freeman. “Take pumpkins for example. They will cook with them, carving them for Halloween and use the seeds as counters in math. There are just so many things you can do.”

They plan on bringing in guests to help educate the children - for example, learning about composting. “Even though we have roadside composting, we feel it is important the kids know how to do it themselves, and they can reap the benefits of their works,” says Rogers.

The community will have a chance to get involved as well. “We’re also going to involve the parents. When we bring an expert in, we plan to have parents and community members welcome, so that if they’re interested in finding out for example more about trees, the expert can show them as well,” says Freeman.