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Day 9: Teaching a kid to plant a tree
I thought today would be just another tree planting, but it had a big new wrinkle to it. Not only did I plant a Hackberry (Celtis Occiddentalis), but I taught a group of kids and adults how to properly plant a tree. After 8 days I was pretty confident I knew what I was doing, but I wasn't sure if I would be able to communicate it to the group. Fortunately, I had some supervision from Andrew Brake of KIB to make sure I didn't miss anything.
So who was the group I was planting with? It was really two groups. There were volunteers from Johnson Controls, Inc who were volunteering in the community to plant 18 trees and 18 shrubs at Brook Park Elementary. What seemed like so much fun to me was the adults from Johnson Controls working hand in hand with the kids from the school. It was so much fun to watch, you could see the kids really engaged in the project. They all were following the step by step process I had described to a tee!
The reason the planting happening at this school was Brook Park is one of the inaugural members of KIB Clubs. KIB is working with a handful of schools to slowly transform the greenspace around the school while engaging and educating the studnets on creating and maintain the grounds. KIB works with schools on small projects so the school isn't overwhelmed with the maintenance. At Brook Park the kids in the KIB club send time each day caring for the landscape. Some mornings there are over 40 kids participating!
Hands on activities like this seem to really help motivate and engage students. It is a great change of pace from a day of learning things like long division & how to not have a misplaced modifier. Not only are the kids learning while they participate, but they are working off some energy to allow them to be more attentive in the classroom.
Before today I was not aware of the KIB Clubs or its program. Now I want to learn more and spend some time volunteering with the clubs...just maybe not until I get another 21 trees in the ground.
