BLACK FOREST — With shovels in hand, more than 20 students from the ‘TRACKS’ program at Home School Academy trekked into the Black Forest burn scar, the same area scorched by the 2013 wildfire.
This charred stretch of forest is slowly coming back to life thanks to these Academy School District 20 middle schoolers, who are planting more than 100 trees as part of a wildfire recovery project funded by the Restoring Colorado’s Forests Fund.
Eric Gehrke, a forester with the Colorado State Forest Service, guided the students as they got to work.
“Find your seedling, you center your seedling in the middle of it and then just push those to the ground,” he explained.
Most of the students were just babies when the fire happened. Now, they're making an impact on the future of this forest.
“Having an opportunity to plant seedlings in an area that has been devastated by natural disaster in 2013 and then coming back 12 years later to affect future generations is just exciting,” said Keisha Hill, Principal of Home School Academy.
The students planted a mix of spruce and Ponderosa pine trees, five seedlings each.
“It all goes back to, they’re the next generation, and they’re putting the next generation trees in the ground,” said Gehrke.
For eighth grader Isaac Carson, the project hit close to home.
“If I ever come back here one day, maybe then I can... look and see... 'hey, I actually helped plant some of these trees,'” said Carson.
He says it’s not just about the trees, it’s about responsibility.
“It’s given a lot for us, and I feel like it’s our duty to take care of it," said Carson. "We get a lot of how we survive from the Earth, so might as well help it when it needs help.”
Carson hopes the trees will grow into something meaningful for others and for the environment.
“I hope that they'll bring joy to other people… and give them a will to try and protect it and keep it beautiful,” said Carson.
He's also encouraging people to be mindful, saying even small actions can prevent devastating damage.
“Make sure you put out your fires… just try your best to help the environment, because it's helped you a lot,” said Carson.
For the students, this is more than a school project. It’s a chance to make a lasting difference.
“The biggest takeaway for our kids is that they have power,” said Hill. “They have the power to affect the future in a positive way or in a negative way, and they're choosing to do it in a positive way that's going to be lasting for generations to come.”
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