For over 20 years, Casey Trees has been planting trees in schoolyards across DC, but a special collaboration recently with FoodPrints illustrates the intersection of healthy nutrition and a healthy tree canopy.
If you don’t already know, FoodPrints is an incredible program that brings hands-on gardening, cooking, and nutrition lessons into the classroom at 21 DC schools.
This school year, our education team had the amazing opportunity to partner with Raigon Wilson, the Lead Teacher with FoodPrints at Garfield Elementary School, to teach fourth graders about the benefits of trees. And for their final project, the students helped plant over a dozen fruit and shade trees around their school’s new garden, including serviceberry, paw paw, and apple trees.
What made this planting so special is that it’s a culmination of educational activities we’ve done all year long with Garfield Elementary as part of our Nature Near Schools programming, which is funded through the District Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE). The Nature Near Schools program centers around the Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) framework, guiding students through investigations of local environmental issues, particularly how human actions impact urban ecosystems and watersheds. The program also increases students’ comfort in natural settings, boosting their confidence in making a difference, and empowering them to advocate for greener, healthier communities.
This is what led the school to take action and plant 30 trees on their school grounds as a capstone project, to not only serve as an outdoor classroom and learning space, but also as an effort to bring the benefits of trees to the school, and their learning full circle to action.
Ms. Raigon always dreamed of having an orchard for her students. “The students asked me about apple trees and other trees we just have never been able to grow. Having the trees here means so much more than pulling up a picture on the smartboard,” Ms. Raigon explained.
With only one major grocery store in Ward 8, she emphasized the value of teaching students how to grow their own food and its importance for their social and physical health.
“Having an orchard here in the food landscape that we’re in is also really meaningful so that students can see that there’s another way,” Ms. Raigon said. “They can advocate for more food justice in the community.”
Community partnership is at the heart of our work at Casey Trees, and our collaboration with FoodPrints exemplifies the meaningful impact we can create together.
“During a visit to Garfield, I was working outside on the orchard design when a FoodPrints student brought me a fresh salad she had made in class. It was delicious and highlighted how students are building direct connections between Earth, humans, and food,” said Sam Nelson, the youth programs forester at Casey Trees. “And now they’ll extend that connection to trees. It makes me think of all the layers of growth possible in this space and partnership, and it warms my green heart.”
By teaching students about the benefits of trees and how to grow their own food, we’re empowering the next generation with the knowledge to better care for themselves and their environment. If your school is interested in hosting a tree planting and has space for at least 10 trees, fill out an application with us, and let’s plant together!
