Still in their first year as the newest Rotary Club, Tri-Lakes Dynamic continues to serve and make a positive impact in the area. Over the course of seven months of planning, and through the efforts of their Environmental Committee comprised of Owen Schoolsky, Christy Smith, Audrey Sato, and Brian McKay, and in partnership with Lewis-Palmer School District 38’s Learning Services Coordinator, Pamela Kern, they held the first-ever Seedling project on Friday, 28 April at Ray E. Kilmer Elementary School. With the assistance of a few other Rotarians, Maryam Eaton, Shun Beasley, Nicole Schoolsky, and a couple of local high school students, Aliyah Eaton and Alex Beasley, they facilitated an interactive and hands-on training lesson on the benefits of trees related to our environment and the world we live in to approximately 50 2nd graders. The timing of this project was done to support the school’s ongoing curriculum related to Earth Day.
One of the key elements of this outreach program was in providing each of the students a White Pine Seedling that the Rotary purchased from the Arbor Day Foundation, which came with planting instructions for the children to take home and plant in their backyard with the assistance of their parents. The “hope” is that at least 25-40% of the seedlings are cared for and continue to grow over the coming years. And the students were asked to keep a running log on the progress of their seedlings (to include pictures) to present to the Environmental Committee the following year, at which time some of the students will receive an award for their care and feeding of their seedlings. From a mid-long term perspective, based on the results of this “pilot program,” Tri-Lakes Dynamic Rotary Club intends to expand this effort out on an annual basis to all the elementary schools’ 2nd graders within District 38.
