Rushwood students experience nature through Summit Soil program

by Laura Bednar

Rushwood Elementary’s student leadership group learned about trees and explored the outdoors in a presentation from Summit Soil and Water Conservation District, along with consulting firm Euthenics.

The leadership group, made up of third- and fourth-graders, is led by Rushwood teacher Renee Piper and meets once a month to participate in a community-driven activity. In October, they met in a pavilion on Rushwood’s campus and listened to a presentation from Sandy Barbic, educational specialist with Summit Soil and Water.

She spoke about trees and all they offer people, including oxygen and food. Students were given their own “tree cookie” or a small piece of tree cut into a round flat shape the size of an ornament. They were asked to simulate the rings on a tree stump by drawing significant milestones in the timeline of their lives on the face of the tree cookie.

After making their tree cookies into ornaments or necklaces, students were sent on a scavenger hunt on school grounds to find things like birds, a chewed leaf, insect eggs and a hole in a tree. 

Students were given a Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District drawstring bag with a notebook, pencil, stickers and informational book. Summit Metro Parks also donated White Oak trees for each student to take home and plant.

Dan Bender, vice president/project manager at Euthenics, said, “I like to work with kids because they are still learning,” adding that the information they soak up can be shared with family. Bender is the liaison between Sagamore Hills Township and Summit Soil and Water, providing guidance regarding stormwater education and public involvement for the township.

Said Barbic, “They [kids] have to think of a way to save the planet.”Students in the leadership group have participated in other community initiatives, such as making gift bags of supplies for homeless people and caroling for those in assisted living facilities. In December, the group will ask students to donate money to wear pajamas the day before Christmas break. Students use the funds to buy pajamas for children in “By The Dawn’s Early Light” foster care. 

photo caption: Students look at the items they’ve collected during a nature scavenger hunt. Photo by Laura Bednar.