This year, 11 schools across Chatham-Kent took part in the seventh annual Tomorrow’s Greener Schools, Today program led in partnership between C-K Public Health and the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority.
Approximately 224 students learned the role trees play when it comes to providing shade and filtering air pollution.
The students were also able to benefit from the hands-on experience of physically planting the 126 trees, after receiving education on proper tree care and maintenance to ensure successful growth.
Ten different species of Native Carolinian trees were specifically chosen for the program.
“It is important for us to retain our natural heritage and biodiversity,” said LTVCA’s Environmental Project Co-ordinator Greg Van Every in a media release. “The relationships between the native species and the climate we live in thrive on this balanced ecosystem are important. Non-native species are a threat to this system and can upset that balance.”
C-K Public Health’s, Sandy Kalabalikis is hopeful that the recent council motion regarding planting one million trees in Chatham-Kent within four years will help expand the program, with even more schools wanting to jump on board.
“It’s a wonderful program, every way you look at it,” said Kalabalikis. “It’s great for the environment, it’s a real learning experience for the staff and students that take part, and it’s an initiative that has real lasting power. It’s a program for the future.”
