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NEW JERSEY TREE FOUNDATION HELPS SCHOOL GO GREEN WITH PLANTINGS
By Keith Hagarty
 | | --Photo Courtsey Of Howell Middle School South Some 368 sixth graders of Middle School South planted over 400 tree saplings along the perimeter of the school grounds in celebration of Arbor Day. |
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HOWELL - While planting one or two trees is a common occurrence at most schools on Arbor Day, the vast amount of young White Pines and Norway Spruce saplings now lining the school grounds of Howell Middle School South is truly something special, according to teacher Steve Milkowski.
In an effort to make this Arbor Day extra significant, Milkowski went to the New Jersey Tree Foundation and requested 425 2-year-old saplings.
"When I went to their meeting, everyone there was only getting like 50 or 25 trees, and when I asked them for 425 trees, they all looked at me like I was crazy," said Milkowski, who spearheaded the tree planting project with fellow teachers Nicole Wooley and Valerie McCourt.
"I wanted every single sixth
grader to be able to plant their
own tree," said Milkowski. "We have 368 sixth graders and
on April 26, every single sixth grader that was in school that day got to plant their own tree."
The non-profit foundation is dedicated to the promotion, enhancement and development of urban and community forestry activities in New Jersey through education, volunteerism, community outreach, partnerships and grants. The organization promotes environmental awareness by providing forestry programs, services and opportunities to the state's cities and towns, including the free donation of saplings to schools.
"They've been absolutely amazing," Milkowski said of the foundation's generous contributions to Middle School South. "We've had a few tree plantings at the school before, but nothing of this magnitude was ever done."
Over a two-hour span, the students and staff rolled up their sleeves and got their hands dirty, digging holes and filling wheelbarrels full of mulch and topsoil.
"It was crazy," said Milkowski. "We had a lot of parent and teacher help, and the day before I had a whole bunch of my students stay after school and we dug a bunch of holes to help out, and we delivered mulch and top-soil near the holes."
While the impressive rows of little saplings around the perimeter of the school grounds are barely big enough to be seen from a distance right now, Milkowski and his students are excited to see them grow into something special.
"In a few years, it's going to look really nice," Milkoski said, noting that the trees are expected to grow to about five feet tall within five years.
It was important for Milkowski to encourage the students to take pride in their school by beautifying its appearance and helping the environment.
"Even the kids that are hard to reach definitely had a great day, and are still really into it," said Milkowski. "They want to check on their tree and make sure it's okay. They're definitely taking some ownership of the whole idea."
The planting was just the first step in bringing an awareness and appreciation of environmental issues to the students, according to Milkowski.
"It's been amazing," he said. "In fact, I even had a bunch of kids stay after school today just to help out because we still have to mulch and we still have to water. We have a responsibility to the New Jersey Tree Foundation to hopefully make sure they don't die."
To help combat any unforeseen problems, the school also created a nursery area on the grounds to house a collection of trees of the same shape and size in case any saplings need to be replaced.
Milkowski wanted to give special thanks to the Sunkist Landscape Supply of Ocean, in Brick, which donated eight yards of top soil and eight yards of mulch.
"They hooked us up totally," he said.
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