One of the fun parts about the Cool Schools tree plantings were the younger students who came out to put mulch rings around the freshly planted trees. I nicknamed these kids “Mulchkins,” combining mulch and munchkins together. Hearing them scream in joy and running around spilling mulch everywhere was certainly a sight to see.
I made a compilation video of different mulchkin groups running around at tree plantings for you to enjoy!
Cool Schools Program
Cool Schools connect students and teachers to nature by planting trees and creating fun and engaging outdoor experiential learning areas. These were some of my favorite projects getting to work with volunteers and kids to plant trees! It was great seeing students experiencing the outdoors and getting their hands dirty. Below are some Texas Trees Foundation blog posts that highlight different Cool School planting events.
- Boude Storey Middle School
- C.A. Tatum Jr Elementary
- S.S. Conner Elementary School
- Dan D. Rogers Elementary Wishing Trees
- Oran M. Roberts Elementary Cool School Planting
- Tom C. Gooch Elementary Cool School Planting
You can find more of work and planting events on my Master List of Texas Trees Work blog post.
Texan by Nature’s Cool Schools Program Highlight Video
The Texas Trees Foundation’s award-winning program, Cool Schools, launched in 2016 with Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD) featuring two pilot schools, where 176 trees were planted. This resulted in $227,290 of ecosystem services over a 40-year period, that includes: carbon sequestration, air pollution removal, energy savings, and stormwater savings.
Texas Trees Foundation’s goal is to enhance the landscapes and outdoor learning opportunities of 150+ elementary school campuses in Dallas ISD, and expand the Cool Schools model to surrounding regional school districts and across the state of Texas.
— Texan by Nature YouTube Video Description
I was at the filming of this video and helped wrangle the kids away from the cameras and drone. You can see me in the video on screen at [00:39} in a grey baseball cap. The green stickers were also my idea. They served a dual purpose of acting like a fun badge for the kids, and also the green or red colors indicated if their parents signed video permission forms. This way we could generally check the stickers in the photos and videos to confirm permissions.
