Local Students Take On 'Project Plant It'

In a May 6 afternoon ceremony filled with third-graders, county officials and Dominion Virginia Power representatives, 114 kids at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School  planted four trees at the school to commemorate Arbor Day.

The trees were a donation from Dominion, a producer and transporter of energy, as part of their Project Plant It Program.

The entire third-grade at the Manassas school on Kahns Road—classes of Ms. Cutter, Mrs. Flynn, Mrs. Flowler, Mrs. Jallah and Ms. Nuckles—participated in the event, along with guests from Prince William Soil and Water Conservation District, Dominion Power, a county school board member, a county board supervisor and associate superintendents.  

Along with songs and poems performed by the
students, groups of kids led the events. The school’s Flag Patrol led students
in the pledge. The Kids Care Club greeted arrivals. “WSOAR-TV” students
interviewed the special guests form Dominion and the PW Soil and Water
Conservation.

“Project Plant It is a program created by Dominion to give teachers an interactive way to teach 3rd graders about the value and importance of trees,” said Le-Ha Anderson, manager of Media and Community Relations at Dominion.

Teachers used a kit of lesson plans and other instructional materials,
and each student received a tree seedling to plant at home.

“Since 2007, Dominion has distributed more than 100,000 tree seedlings to students in seven states,” said Anderson. According to the company's website, if every seedling is planted, that equates to more than 250 acres of forest.

Every 3rd grade student in Prince William County—all 6,288 of them—received a seedling to take home and plant, Anderson said. Dominion gave instructions on how to plant and care for the tree and safety tips.

Dominion also provided this program to Arlington County, Loudoun County, Fauquier County and the City of Alexandria, Anderson said.