Middle schoolers determined to help heal the Black Forest Fire scar
(BLACK FOREST, Colo.) — On the second to last day of school, a group of students from Village Middle School got to adventure outside of the classroom to leave their mark on a scarred piece of land. Since the beginning of the year, these students were hard at work designing and fundraising to plant trees in the Black Forest Fire burn scar.
“It wasn’t me, it wasn’t the administration,” Natalie Ruecker, Village Middle School teacher, said. “They were the ones who made the phone calls, got on the ground, obviously digging the holes and doing all the hard labor, but also doing the background stuff that a lot of middle schoolers would be really intimidated to talk to adults, to call on the phone, to ask for things.”
When it comes to making change in the community, these middle schoolers exemplify that the trait of service is not bound by age and the determination shared between different grade levels.
“We’ve really seen a lot of the impact of environmental things happening in our world in a more direct manner that’s affecting people on a daily basis,” Ruecker said. “If everyone starts chipping in, everyone does their little bit and does our part, it can make a difference.”
Students held different roles within the project ranging from fundraising to designing t-shirts to reaching out to nurseries for tree donations.
“I was in charge of the fundraiser, and then there was other people who were making crafts, and we were getting donations from other clubs in the school,” said sixth-grader Evey Debelak.
Scattered across the burn scar, students spread out to find their ideal spot to plant their new saplings. Members of the Colorado State Forest Service were also in attendance, guiding students on the correct way to plant and set this vegetation up for success.
“This is an area that burned hard,” Eric Gehrke, Forester for the Colorado State Forest Service, said. “There’s no live trees within the footprint of the fire in this spot, and so there’s no seeds. There’s no seed source here to fill in where the fire was, so these trees are filling that void and growing trees for the future generation out here.”
The hope after planting the new trees is for new life to come to the area. The divide between the living trees and the dead vegetation is immediately apparent of the aftermath from the Black Forest Fire. One of the many dead trees spotted on the land.
Throughout the morning, Debelak could be spotted with a big smile. While she has helped out with her family’s garden, this was the first time she had ever planted a tree.
“I’m really like proud of everybody in our group and just like seeing how everyone has like great ideas, and they can work together on those ideas to make a big difference,” said Debelak.
Not only are these students inspiring each other, but also the greater community in their efforts to make a lasting impact.
“What I think is cool is the kids initiated it,” Gehrke said. “They’re the ones that thought of it, put everything together for it, and learned a lot about it. So, it was pretty exciting to see them do that.”
Looking towards the future, these students have developed not only a green thumb but also a passion for creating environmental restoration, and now have their own unique memory of reviving the scar.
“They said even when they’re in high school, they want me to contact them when we’re out planting again so that they can come join us,” Ruecker said. “I just love that it’s not just a one-and-done like they want to continue with this in the future.”
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