William Collier Elementary Students To Grow Alongside Nature

in the Lake Elsinore Unified School District, will pair kindergartners and 5th grade students to plant several new trees at their school beginning at 10:30 a.m. this Friday morning, April 20. The trees were donated under a grant from the National Wildlife Federation, based in Reston, VA, whose mission is to inspire Americans to protect wildlife for our children's future.

Lisa Douglas, a 5th grade teacher at William Collier Elementary, wrote the grant and learned of the award earlier this month. Principal Dorri Neal says Ms. Douglas was inspired to write the grant, “So, as they grow with us over the next five years, our kindergarteners will get to watch nature grow by their own handiwork, a legacy project for the next generation.”

The first tree planting ceremony starts at 10:30  a.m. and pairs Ms. Douglas’s 5th graders with their “Kinder Buddies.” An afternoon ceremony at 2:30 p.m. is scheduled with 5th graders from Mr. Quimby’s and Mrs. Gallandt’s classes, along with their “Kinder Buddies.”

Approximately 60 bare root trees are being provided under the grant. “Planting a tree right on their school grounds is a perfect opportunity for students to experience the environment and learn how a single tree can help clean the air, clean the water, and provide a home for wildlife,” says Eliza Russell, Director of Education for the National Wildlife Federation. --Lake Elsinore Unified School District