Riley Elementary Kindergarteners Foster Growth and Learning Through Trees and Garden Cleanup

Kindergarten students at Riley Elementary School recently participated in a hands-on learning experience focused on trees, gardening, and caring for their school environment.

Students received Norway spruce trees from the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oswego County and worked together to help clean up school grounds, including the Riley School Kid Garden. The activity gave students the opportunity to interact directly with the trees while helping prepare outdoor spaces for planting season.

“It is important for students to be exposed to trees at an early age. Hands-on exposure is the best way they can learn about the planet they share with a multitude of other life forms,” said Katrina Relyea, a 4-H Natural Resource Educator from the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Oswego County. “Young children learn through experiences and play, so to have the chance to hold a Norway spruce tree, feel its prickly needles, and observe it up close provides a deeper and more memorable experience than reading and looking at pictures of one.” 

Each classroom will grow plants in the coming weeks before transplanting them into the garden, in preparation for the upcoming planting season.