March 26

We really had a lot going on for this Friday's get together. We planted our 3 River Birch and 1 Cypress, watered all the trees, mulched, and flagged. It took a little bit longer this time for our original group to join our planting adventures. The other students are really starting to notice what our project is doing and wanting to be involved. This is great, because maybe there will be a better chance of the trees making it through their first year. Everyone also seemed to be more excited this week, which made it very hard to get all of their attention towards the end of our meet. But other than that, 'Imagination Envirostation' is a hit.

Mar 26

Another great session (they seem to be getting better and better)! Even the students who cannot stay for our club are coming to help out during their recess. On Friday we saw those girls coming in droves!!! They all had questions and were interested in what we were saying.

While distributing the pine straw, we had discussions with the students about why muching is important and the reasons we chose to use pine straw. They all listened eagerly. Afterwards, we found some pieces of pine that had fallen from the trees. We showed the students that the straw we used came from these very trees (the importance of nature). Some students mentioned that they can use dried pieces of pine found on the ground to help cover the bottom of their trees. They were all eager to help water the plants and label them with flags. These flags help distinguish where all the trees are planted and make our work look more substantial.

The students love picture time at the end of the sessions. Unfortunately, we didn't have time for our activity. Hopefully we can incorporate it into our next session- rain barrels! One student even mentioned the rain barrels, which shows that they pay attention to us (ha) and care about what we are doing. When time was up, we made sure to let them know that we'll be back and that we'll miss seeing them.

Friday, March 26

Once students saw that we were on the play ground we attracted the attention of several students that were not in our group; students were eager to help plant their new trees. 'Imagination Envirostation' has been very receptive to all new students wanting to participate in our service learning project. As a result, several students have consistently participated during their recess time and look forward to our arrival on Friday's.

To further develop an environmental identity, students were given flags to mark the trees they planted. Students were instructed to write their name and the name of the tree planted on flag (s) and then place flags beside all the trees they helped plant. Students also located a water source and took turns filling buckets to waterier their trees. Students placed pine straw by all their trees to reduce run off of rain water, maintain the moisture of the soil, and to reduce damage from lawn movers. A janitor at the school noted that it was a strong possibility that our trees would be destroyed by individuals moving the lawn. However, this particular janitor insisted that he would inform other workers to be cautions of the trees that the students had planted.

Our next session will be held on April 16, due to spring break closures.

Benefits of Trees!

Here are a few consolidated bullet points about the benefits of trees to stress this friday, especially for chris and jessica who will be doing the business model demonstration.

• well placed trees can lower home air conditioning and heating bills
• trees absorb stormwater and help reduce flooding
• trees clean the air of many pollutants
• the roots of trees hold soil in place and help prevent erosion
• trees lower the temperatures in the summer in cities where there is a lot of concrete and steel (urban heat island effect)
• trees increase the property value of homes and businesses
• trees help create relaxation
• trees provide habitat for lots of good wildlife from tiny insects to big birds like eagles
• using organic fertilizer and pesticides are best. chemical ones leak into out water supply and cause illnesses, just like the ones that are on our food that lead to diabetes, heart disease, obesity, etc.
  

March 19 - Planting trees

Students involved played an active role in planting about 24 trees on their campus. Trees planted included native 'Oak' and 'Riverbrich' and non native 'Chinese elm'. Several students were able to plant their own tree(s) and other students collaborated with peers to plant trees. For this project, students were able to select the location for their tree(s), dig holes deep enough to support the roots of the tree(s), and stabilize tree(s) in the ground. In addition, students learned that:


1.Trees come with instructions to ensure healthy growth- For example, some trees should be planted in dry areas, others in wet areas to help with flooding, trees should be spaced so many feet apart, and tree(s) should be so many feet from the concrete.
- I noticed that even thou students were given the option to decide where they won't to plant their tree(s). Some were concerned about what type of tree it was and in what area would it grow best. This shows that some students were forming an awareness regarding tree instructions and the survival of tree(s).

2.The the correct way to dig and place trees in the ground. Facilitators taught students the importance of making sure that the hole(s) were dug twice the size of the roots, ensure that roots were below the ground, and to chop up soil before placing back in the hole, to allow more oxygen to flow to the roots.
-I noticed that students placed their tree(s) in the ground several times measuring to make sure that their hole was deep enough to hold each plant.


3. How to Care for their trees- Students learned the importance of watering and looking after their trees. Facilitators will continue to educate students regarding the importance of caring for their trees.


Overall, students seemed to enjoy planting trees on their campus and are looking forward to designing rain barrels next Friday.

March 19

So our project is coming along!! Being able to give each of the kids their own individual trees was awesome. They were able to develop a partnership with their other classmates and have ownership at the same time. This provides that sense of community that we have been learning about that changes a city/school. The kids excitement when we get to the school on Fridays will hopefully develop into their ability to take care of the trees even after we leave.
For this weeks project of the rainbarrels... we need to remember to provide the kids with buckets so that they can walk the water to their trees... so add that to the budget?

Friday, Mar 19

I can't believe the number of trees we were able to plant on Friday. Since we had so many student participants, it was nice that we had extra trees and shovels for everyone to be able to help. Every student there was able to plant at least one tree- this is great because they all feel as though they contributed.

This Friday, I will bring the flags and some Sharpie markers. The students will be able to write their name on the flags and place them by the trees they planted. We should also get their pictures taken with the trees they planted. Maybe we could give them copies of those pics to keep?

My main concern for these trees is watering. It is very important, especially once the weather starts getting hotter, that these trees are watered on a regular basis. Ms. Beech mentioned to me that she has never seen any maintanence crew watering anything outside (she has never even seen any water hoses). Once we have our rain barrels, this won't be such a big issue. We'll just have to make sure the students think to water them regularly. Hopefully Saturday's rain was enough to keep them going for a while! The summer will pose a new concern once the students are no longer at the school every day...

I think every week we are there, the more interested the students are in what we're doing. They are starting to trust the fact that we are there every week and are starting to enjoy learning from us and participating in our projects. They are going to remember this for a long time!!!

Pictures from Friday's Tree Planting

Check out the pictures from Friday's tree planting!

Click here.

Meeting at the LSU/Hammond Ag Research Center

Dr. Burley and I met with Regina Bracy at the LSU Ag Research Center in Hammond on Thursday. Regina had a lot of great ideas for our project, including a way in which we could easily acquire additional funding. Here are a few of the things that came out of the meeting:

• Bracy's Nursery would likely donate 4-5 additional trees in 4 gallon buckets. These would be comparable to the trees we already attained at Lowe's
• Using the saplings we attained from LA Ag and Forestry, we could allow each student to plant their own tree. Doing this would give them pride of ownership and hopefully encourage them to devote time to ensuring their individual tree's survival. This would be a teaching experience and would encourage the development of an environmental identity.
• Regina suggested getting small, metal flags from Lowe's to place in the ground next to the young saplings. Students could put their names on the flags, revealing each tree's ownership. Doing this would add visibility to the presence of the young tree and hopefully keep it from being damaged by lawnmowers or by other students playing in the vicinity.
• Regina noted that we did not need to stake the young saplings that we attained from LA Ag and Forestry.
• Finally, Regina mentioned that she was in charge of allocating grant dollars for the Hammond Tree Foundation. She felt that our project was worthy of receiving some of the funds, and she asked that we submit a letter requesting the funds and detailing how we would spend them were they allocated to us. Upon doing so, she felt that she would be able to allocate at least $250.00 to our project. Jessica and I are going to put the letter together by early next week.

Friday's Session

I love the pictures, I think the kids had a really great time planting the trees. There weren't even enough gloves for all the students who wanted to help!

Having last Friday's session OUTSIDE was a huge bonus. All of the students who were at recess saw what we were doing and literally ran over. Everyone wanted to help! I counted at least ten new students who were asking what we were doing and if they could help. This probably made our group feel a little bit of pride in the fact that they are the ones involved. Even the girls wanted to get in there and dig holes. One student had a great idea of wrapping plastic bags around his shoes to keep them clean- this was an emergent trend that many other students implemented. This time, the students weren't reaching for the door

Luckily, we got a list of a few students who are not in our group but who would like to join. I told them to talk to their teachers and see if they could be included in the future.

This week should be fun. I did some online research on River Birch trees- it is a very pretty trees and is also native. It has salmon-colored bark that peels off as it ages. It does well in moist soil and should receive plenty of sunlight- perfect for our school yard!

In the email I sent to Principal Rousseau, I asked if someone could remind the students of their "assignment". Hopefully they will all bring their ideas with them this week.

Tree Planting

Can we say messy?!? :-D Guys and Gals, it was great this past Friday. It was nice to do something out of the norm. Our little buddy was a great help with the information that he had about trees... It's really good for someone their age to be educating them. I think it is more important that they learn from each other during all of this. On a side note, I'm glad that there are more places for the rain barrels. We definitely need to talk about this.

Tree Planting

Planting Cypress Trees

Planting the cypress trees was a huge success and the project attracted the interest of several other students who were not apart of our original group. Students were eager to plant the trees and took an active role in selecting the placement, digging holes, measuring, and securing plants in the ground. Throughout the process facilitators asked students questions to ensure that students understood the purpose of planting trees on their campus. The following are examples of dialogue that took place between facilitators (Q) and students (A).

Q: Why is this the best spot to plant our trees?

A: This is where it floods
A: The trees will be able to soak up some of the water

Q: What benefits will the trees have on your campus?

A: Provide shade to the basketball court
A: Help with flooding

Facilitators ensured that students were aware of the responsibilities and maintenance required in caring for their trees. One student took lead in telling his peers the importance of watering, monitoring for bugs, and being careful not to destroy the trees.

In addition, students actively surveyed the campus for areas where rain barrels could be installed. Students were able to locate several drainage pipes surrounding the gym and cafeteria that would be sufficient areas for installing rain barrels. Students were asked about the importance of placing rain barrels on their campus and why some spots are better for placing rain barrels than others. Students responded by saying that rain barrels would reduce flooding and that they could use the water in watering their trees. Also they noted that it would not be wise to place rain barrels by the entrance of the gym or cafeteria where student could knock them over. One student drew a diagram representing possible locations and was able to share the findings with other students. For our next session, students were given the task to draw a diagram plotting where they would like to plant more trees and to draw a design that would be featured on their rain barrels.

Planting Trees was Awesome!!

I had the best time on Friday with the kids planting trees. Everyone seems really excited about the trees and I think they will want to take care of them and encourage the other kids in the school to so as well. It was cool to see everyone getting in the mud and digging around. I think we got the kid's thinking more along the lines of problem solving now.
I was also happy to hear that there was some money raised for our club for the costs of the trees and paint and other supplies. The school staff seems like they are very interested in the club we have and hopefully that means our ideas will push them to continue a club like this after our time ends.

Planting a Bald Cypress

We will have two bald cypress trees to plant on Friday. The planting of each tree should be a relatively easy task, and the students should have no trouble taking the lead. Each seedling will be housed in a plastic pot/container. To begin to plant the seedlings, we will need to dig holes approximately the same size of the containers in which the seedlings are housed. After doing so, the seedlings can easily be placed into the ground by hand.

According to research, the cypress root collar should be right at or just below the root surface. The roots need to be able to spread out naturally, without twisting or bending. If the soil is wet, the seedling should be held at the root collar and pushed into the ground until the planter's hand reaches the soil. From what I read, containerized seedlings can be successfully planted at any time of year and under most conditions. Ideally, the seedlings should be planted when soil is moist or slightly flooded; they can be planted directly into water.

Finally, an article from the University of Florida mentioned some pitfalls to avoid when planting the seedlings. These included: planting the seedling in a non-vertical position, digging a hole too shallow for proper root placement, or leaving an air pocket near the roots after closing the hole.

Budgeting for Paints

Costs of Paint
Primer- 15.00
Aura Quart-46.00=(2*23.00)
Sub Total 61.00
Tax 5.34
Total 66.34

This is the least amount of paint we can buy.

Costs of Other Supplies
Brushes- 9.70=10 brushes @ .97 each
Drop Cloths- 5.96=2 drop cloths @ 2.98 each
Sub Total 15.66
Tax 1.37
Total 21.45

Grand Total $87.79 (Keep in mind this is an estimate).

Feedback from Principal Rousseau

I talked with Ms. Rousseau last night. She is very supportive, just very busy. Here are the important points.

1. We can get there for 12:30. Students should be in the cafeteria and we can recruit them from there.
2. We nearly have free reign with where we plant trees. Around the basketball court is fine and we may want to scatter them around garden (when that time comes) as not to shade the garden too much. We can get students to design the placement of trees, while asking why we would want to place trees in a particular location.
3. Long term maintenance of trees through summer can be conducted by Ms. Beech or maintenance staff. And then, in fall, students should continue maintenance. We will stress the importance of this as time goes on.
4. Planting a spring crop in the garden is unlikely because there will be no one to take care of it and harvest in summer. But, if we get to that point, we'll see...
5. While the school has no tools, she will gather some shovels. We should also get as many as possible.
6. She says she can get a small budget for paint and brushes together. We will need drop cloths as well. Get ready... probably between $20 and $30. Marie, you need to budget paint and brushes asap (maybe tell store what this is for and ask if any can be donated or discounted). Bertha, once we get this stuff priced, put together itemized budget to submit to Neill Corp. You should be writing the proposal NOW.
7. At the end of project, we should provide Principal Rousseau with a short, to the point bullet point report of what we have done and reasoning behind it. This is called a list of deliverables. Bertha, this will be your responsibility too.
8. Also, on Friday, whoever studies rain barrels should take 1 or 2 students to look for more spots to put rain barrels. Discover what best placement of rain barrel to harvest and then use that water for something. Have a student draw diagram of the site/area.
9. Just to reiterate, as we work on Friday, each of us should ask students for advice and suggestions on what we are doing (but don't force it, moments will arise). Then, use these moments to corroborate their suggestions and use opportunity to further educate. For example, when Kenneth suggested building something like an underground well and pipeline to get rid of water, we can say while that's a very good idea, and ask if it might be better to use natural things like trees, plants, rain barrels and get rid of some of the cement? Why might that be better? Underground well and pipeline would be expensive and might cause more damage to land. Trees and plants and rain barrels can do many good things while creating long term jobs due to maintenance. From what I have witnessed, you all have been very good at this sort of stuff, building confidence through leading and guiding them to figure stuff out for themselves. So, this is just to stay mindful of it.

Whew! that's all for now.

Rain Barrels

In response to students interest in Rain Barrels, the Baton Rouge Recycling Center was contacted in order to honor this request. The recycling center has agreed to order and supply rain barrel(s) for a price of $50.00 (including tax). This amount will be included in proposals submitted for funds. It is anticipated that we will begin designing, and installing rain barrels with students in the next few sessions.

Great photos!

It is clear that our "core" group of students really want to be there and enjoy helping us come up with our ideas. They are all very interested in growing a school garden and planting trees- some are even willing to give up their recess! They understand that they will no longer be at the school by the time the trees are large enough to enjoy, and they are okay with that! They still feel a sense of ownership with the trees because they helped plant them. I hope that we can do something about the singletary trash bin outside- it's simply not enough! If we could start implementing a recycling, we could at least have the students recycle their milk bottles (if they are recyclable plastic). One of the students mentioned that they do not have any soda on campus- a pleasant surprise! If we need supplies for Friday, I know I have at least one shovel in my shed. I'll look and see what all I have.

See you all tonight~

Tour of Campus

On March 5, students showed us the gym, cafeteria, previous garden, basketball court, areas where they play, areas that flood often, and available trashcans. The tour was successful and allowed us to see several issues that the students had discussed. It was brought to our attention that the previous garden was organized by the Principle and maintained by the janitors at the school. Students were excited about replanting at the site of the previous garden, and planting tress by the basketball court. Afterwards students mentioned that they would need equipment like gloves and boots to begin working outside. In addition we learned of at least one possible teacher that may be interested in up keep of this project and the possibility that Transition students may be interested in helping with our project.

The tour consisted of about seven students, a few left early to attend other activities. A few students mentioned that they would prefer to be at cheer leading practice, basketball, or helping there teachers grade papers on Friday's. This might explain why are attendance has dropped from the first session. Also that there is a grade requirement to participate in our group which has taken away several students that appeared be interested. Despite minor challenges there are a few students whom are dedicated to the project. On our next visit we plan to begin planting trees with students

Tour of Campus

Well everything that the kids say is true! Who would have thought? (joking) I guess out of the tour, the most interesting thing to me was the idea of the garden and of all things they were allowed to pick and eat from the garden at their breaks...that's AWESOME! However, first thing's first. I think the trees are a great starting point. The kids were really excited about just the idea of them being on the playground, even with the understanding that they would not be big enough for a few years to climb on. I think the trees by themselves will create much improvement to their campus. Idea: Knowing that the garden is going to take some time to grow, should we start the plants from seeds and maybe they could plant them in the fall? That way the principal could take them home over the summer and make sure that they are watered, since she does the strawberry plants anyways. Then they can be planted in the fall when the kids start back up... I guess that would have to depend on the type of plant.

I agree, everything went great Friday, even though we did not have too many students. The kids seem to get very interested in an idea when we explain the concepts of why it's important. At first, the looks on their faces showed that they were unsure of raingardens. But once we explained why they are useful, they were very interested!

Last summer semester, Jamie and I had some contact with the Sustainablility Committee here on campus while working on a project. It was chaired by Ben Taylor, who unfortunately is no longer employed at Southeastern (to my knowledge?) However, we can still get some contact information to research the recycling programs!?

See you all tonight~