Marina Hills High School is fighting pollution in an unusual way. It’s planting trees!
In an effort to fight pollution and help
the environment, the Marina Hills Ecology Club offers free trees to institutions willing
to plant them on their grounds. Among those that took advantage of the offer was Marina Hills High School. After consulting
with his teachers on where to plant the trees, Principal Max Webb contacted the Ecology Club.
But when the seedlings arrived, Webb had an idea. Instead of planting the young
trees in front of the school, he thought it would be better to put them behind the school, where the sun gets very hot in the afternoon.
“It gets so hot inside the building that the students start to sweat during their
afternoon classes,” said Webb. “Now the shade from our trees will bring them some relief.”
“There was no argument from the
teachers,” he added. “When I proposed
the idea, everyone said, ‘Now why didn’t I think of that!’”
The relief won’t come until the trees grow taller, but the school will not have to wait long because it requested two species
of trees that grow quickly.
“Time is key, and we wanted our trees
to get big fast,” said Webb. “We were
given a wide choice, from shrubs to fruit trees. We requested eucalyptus and willow
trees.”
Webb said he is also looking forward to
finally seeing some wildlife in the school
yard at Marina Hills High School.
“If all you have is a grass lawn with no
trees, you can’t expect the local birds to come and visit,” said Webb. “They have
no place to make their nests. Now that will change, and we’ll be able to see birds from our classroom windows.”