Conservation district plants trees at Summit Elementary
The Butler County Conservation District received a $4,000 grant to perform landscape work at Summit Elementary School and embarked on the first part of a project Monday, May 6, by planting about 200 trees around the school.
Ryan Harr, watershed resource specialist for the county conservation district, said the money came from the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, and the grant’s funds were matched by $1,000 from Penn Energy and volunteer labor.
Harr worked with Butler Area School District administrators who said the lawn space at Summit Elementary was becoming too extensive to mow regularly, so the school became a target for landscaping. Chad Broman, principal of Summit Elementary, added that the idea came from a first-grader’s project last year created by Cindy Michelini's class.
The school was the perfect candidate for the grant, Harr said, because of its landscape and the fact that it is a Community Agricultural Partnership School.
“Someone at the district thought there was just way too much yard to be mowing, that there were better uses for it,” Harr said. “We roughly planted an acre of trees — close to 200. This fall, we're scheduled to come in and plant in the meadow a mix of native plants and wildflowers.”
Harr and a crew of people from the school district and the conservation district completed the tree planting Monday.
Dave Andrews, instructional coach for student engagement in Butler school district, said there are plans to install a trail to points of interest at Summit Elementary, which will include the newly planted area and the coming meadow area. Summit Elementary also has several garden beds and a greenhouse, which also will be tied together through the installation of trail.
“It's nice how some of these projects wrap everything together,” Andrews said.
The Butler County Conservation District is funded by Pennsylvania and Butler County, and Harr said the agency has plans to further work with municipalities on environmental efforts this summer.
“We have an ongoing relationship with city parks, Alameda Park, Forward Township,” Harr said. “Always looking at how we can increase habitat and natural areas and reduce maintenance and cost to the townships.”
