Fourth Graders Receive Trees
Harrison County Soil and Water Conservation District provides trees to all the fourth grade classes in Harrison County.
Iowa’s state Arbor Day was celebrated on April 29th this year and 185 Fourth Grade Foresters in Harrison County rolled up their sleeves and planted a tree. The kids became members of Fourth Grade Foresters of Iowa. The projects goal is to help revitalize a remarkable idea – observation of Arbor Day in America’s schools. Fourth graders at Woodbine, Lo-Ma, Missouri Valley and West Harrison Elementary Schools in Harrison County received a total of 185 trees to take home and plant.
The Harrison County Soil and Water Conservation District in Logan sponsored the trees and the commissioners presented the trees to all the students this week.
“This project is made possible because community business people like Harrison County Soil and Water Conservation District covered the cost of each of the individually packaged evergreen trees, so that there was no cost to the students, the teachers, the school, or the taxpayer,” Debra Ersch, Cofounder of the Fourth Grade Foresters Project stated. “It’s a wonderful way to show support for the community, education and the environment.”
Fourth Grade Foresters USA was created to provide a simple and inexpensive way for any individual, business or organization with to send the 4th Grade students at an elementary school home with a tree of their own to plant and care for. Each fourth grader received an individually packaged 12”-18” evergreen tree seedling sealed in a polybag by workers with disabilities. Each package included information about Iowa’s Arbor Day and planting and care instructions.
Now in the era of global warming and air pollution, tree planting is even more important than ever. Trees take carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the atmosphere to help reduce warming and clean the air we breathe. Planting trees is a simple, inexpensive and easy way to address the problem.
