The grounds at Glenview Park Secondary School in Cambridge are about to get a lot greener.
Last year, a Grade 12 student applied for a Community Tree Grant, to increase the schools’ green infrastructure.
On Tuesday afternoon, together with representatives from Tree Canada and their sponsor, U-Haul, students planted 13 trees to help 'green' their school campus.
“Two years ago, a student worked on an application with his teacher, Mr. Eckhard Lutz. With the support of the school board superintendent, we are able to go forward with what we are doing today, which is planting the trees at our school,” said Beverly Wood, Principal of Glenview Park Secondary School.
“The first go around, the application wasn’t successful. But our student, who has since graduated, persevered and resubmitted. He heard last spring that the school had been awarded $3,500, sponsored by U-Haul through Tree Canada to 'green' our campus.”
Wood said that Tree Canada helped to facilitate the application process at the high school.
Tree Canada is the only national non-profit organization dedicated to planting and nurturing trees in rural and urban environments, in every province across the country.
The organization helps to grow Canada’s tree canopy through programs, research, and engagement efforts and offers grants to communities and schools.
Together with its partners and sponsors, Tree Canada has planted more than 84 million trees.
Since 1992, Tree Canada has greened more than 700 communities throughout Canada, supported the greening of more than 700 schoolyards and planted more than 10,000 edible fruit and nut trees and shrubs in communities across the country to help fight urban food insecurity.
Community Tree Grants provide support to community greening, innovation, and stewardship initiatives. Projects help support 'greening' in communities such as schools.
“The thing about this campus is that we are nestled in this older community. In terms of any expansion involving green space, it is not even remotely in the books. So, we work with what we have, and that is with 13 trees that are now ready to be planted,” Wood said.
“Everyone has been working hard, digging out rocks to make room for the trees. And our teacher, Mr. Lutz, is the force behind getting this going.”
Eckhard Lutz, teaches the school program, Green Industries, and works on a number of outdoors projects with students.
Green Industries covers five sectors including horticulture, landscaping, agriculture, forestry, and floristry.
“Thanks to Tree Canada and U-Haul for sponsoring this, it has become a reality for schools like Glenview to be able to apply for a program like this and receive this grant,” Lutz said.
“The beautiful thing is, at our campus, we have a Green Industries Program so this just not only adds trees to the school campus, but it also provides learning opportunities for students to execute the project from planting, to running the equipment. It is a great learning opportunity, and that's what this is all about.”
Glenview student, Jack Irvine, says that he enjoys taking part in the Green Industries Program because of the many different opportunities it offers.
“It’s because of the program, we're here today,” Irvine said.
“It’s not only fun, but you always do something different. I didn’t know that this was a possibility here at the school. I didn’t know we could do something like this, so I am so happy to be involved.”
For Celia Johnstone from Tree Canada, it’s about building partnerships.
“We can’t do an event such as this without partners. Tree Canada has many sponsors and we are so happy that U-Haul is one of them,” Johnstone said
“The school too has to take the initiative to make the application, obtain the grant, and then run with the program. Tree Canada supports that.”
As a forester, Johnstone said she has been working with Glenview Park Secondary School since the beginning in offering help and advice to the school.
“All of this has resulted in 13 large shade trees which will, in time to come, grow and provide much needed shade here at the school. It’s a very large school yard, but there is currently no shade, except for the building,” Johnstone said.
“Now, with these shade trees, over the years, they will grow very large and will help provide areas where students can shelter from the sun, provide wildlife habitat, and offer all of the other enormous benefits that trees provide.”
For more information about Tree Canada, visit here.
