THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 14, 1994 TAG: 9410120137
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02B EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARY REID BARROW
CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
Kelly Mayone, kneeling on the ground at Green Run High School, carefully patted the last bit of dirt around a small willow oak and then she leapt up and ran over to her teacher, Pat Orr.
``Look,'' Mayone said to Orr, ``I planted it all by myself. My mother will never believe this!''
Mayone, a junior, was one of many Green Run High students who planted a tree for the first time last week as part of a brand new Green Schools Urban Forestry Program. Some of the trees will grow forever on the school grounds while others will eventually be planted in nearby neighborhoods.
The program is the brainchild of the city's Habitat Enhancement Committee.
The committee, a volunteer group, is devoted to enhancing Virginia Beach's natural resources. One of its goals is to expand the city's urban forests; another goal is education.
So, the committee decided to combine the two and wrote a grant proposal to the Virginia Department of Forestry, a proposal that would introduce students like Mayone to the science of planting a tree and would grace the community with trees, too.
The committee requested funds to establish tree nurseries primarily on school sites. The students cultivate the trees and then replant them in the school neighborhood. ``The key is that the program is built into the science curriculum,'' said Rick Scarper, a member of the Habitat Enhancement Committee.
The result was a $6,000 America the Beautiful grant from the Forestry Department for a Green Schools Urban Forestry Program. The program is thought to be the only one of its kind in the nation, Scarper said.
The grant money was put to work for the first time that day when Mayone and her fellow students, all from environmental and earth sciences classes, were hard at work, ably coached by committee members, teachers and Master Gardener volunteers. The students had about 100 trees, all native hardwoods about 2 feet tall, to get into the ground and that was just the beginning of their work.
The students must cultivate their oaks, maples, pines and bald cypresses for the next two to three years. When the trees have grown into big 10-to-14-footers, they will plant them out in residential neighborhoods, parks, schools and other spots where trees are needed in the Green Run community.
``The kids will nurture these things for two years,'' Scarper said. ``They are the administrators, so to speak. We'll work with the kids on the out-plantings and provide outside guidance. Their teachers will provide the education about the value of the urban forest.''
At Green Run, the Green Schools Program is coordinated by Robert L. Smith, the earth science school project coordinator. Green Run is the first school in the city to particpate in the program. Holland Elementary and Great Neck Middle schools are on line for nurseries next.
Out in the far reaches of the Green Run nursery, one group of students planted an ornamental holly. The holly is one of several ``permanent'' trees the students planted to mark the boundaries of the new nursery.
Tyron Fletcher, a ninth-grader, almost had finished digging the hole for the holly. He stood up and rested on his shovel.
``I can look over here,'' Fletcher said with pride, ``and say, `Yeah, I planted this tree.' '' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARY REID BARROW
Kelly Mayone, a junior at Green Run High School, plants a small
willow oak as part of the Green Schools Urban Forestry Program.
by CNB