COLUMBIA FALLS — Kids were hard at work Friday planting trees at Hoerner Park helping Columbia Falls keep it’s designation as a Tree City USA.
“I think we’re 17 years now as a Tree City in Columbia Falls,” said Columbia Falls Tree Board Volunteer Member Paul Donnellon.
A total of 75 fifth grade students from Glacier Gateway Elementary School got their hands dirty, learning the best practices for planting trees.
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“We’re going to plant four linden trees here behind me in this park as well as have a selection of seedlings that we plant kind of in the forest nearby, I think, including ponderosa pine and western larch,” said Donnellon.
Donnellon said part of being a Tree City USA means teaching the next generation to protect and get involved with the outdoors.
“Just talking about conservation of trees in general as a whole, as well as tree identification and learning about exactly what kinds of trees we live with here.”
Fifth grade teacher Anna Pickard said it was fun seeing her students outside of the classroom giving back to their community.
“It’s a great thing for them to learn more about the trees itself and kind of their growing process and what each part of the tree represents,” said Pickard.
Fifth grader Ethan Spencer is excited to check in on the trees he planted in a couple of years.
“To see them grow a lot, I’ve never really planted a tree and seen them grow a lot,” said Spencer.
