By Ainsley Hall
HEDGESVILLE — Back Creek Valley Elementary School celebrated Arbor Day early last Friday, with a special lesson put together by Jody Sims, from the Eastern Panhandle Conservation District.
Sims visited several different classrooms and taught the students about how important trees are for the environment, encouraging the students to protect them.
The Eastern Panhandle Conservation Agency is all about educating and protecting the local land and water to create a better place for everyone to live. Sims is passionate about what she does and educating kids throughout Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan counties about the world around them.
“Trees are very important and give us oxygen,” Sims said. “It’s important that we learn that when we cut them down, we need to plant a tree to replace it. With all the building we have going in the county, we must make sure to keep the trees around so that kids can enjoy them in the future.”
Sims started her lesson by talking about the history of Arbor Day and why it’s important. She talked about Julius Morton, a man from Nebraska, who decided to plant trees on his land and created an apple orchard. He learned how trees can help farmers and their crops. He started the first Arbor Day on April 10, 1872, during which over one million trees were planted.
She then used a diagram to explain the different parts of the tree and how each part helps the tree survive. Sims then led the kids through a craft, where they all colored and made their own trees for Arbor Day.
Sims also does lessons talking about pollination, soil and several other topics throughout Berkeley, Jefferson and Morgan counties. In some schools, she is even helping students raise butterflies and tadpoles, so kids can watch these creatures transform over time.
Sims dreamed of working in this field and teaching others about conservation.
“I love working with kids,” Sims said. “They are like sponges the way they take in everything. I love working with them and hope to get into the schools as much as possible.”
Sims hopes to reach as many students as she can, so she encourages teachers to reach out if they are interested in one of the programs.
“Any teachers who are interested, feel free to contact me at jsims@epcd.us,” Sims said. “I’m always happy to work with them.”