There's a lot of people rooting for Blish Building's tree project to flourish at Wethersfield
Trees are making a comeback on the historic Wethersfield school grounds.
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Fifteen new trees were planted on school property this spring, all paid for with donations, Superintendent Shane Kazubowski told the Board of Education at its May meeting.
The plantings are the next stage of a project which began three years ago when eighth grade science students and their teacher, Cathy Dana, undertook a classroom study of the number of trees that were planted on the school grounds over 100 years ago when the Blish School was built.
They decided to take an inventory of the trees which exist on the grounds today and identify the various species. The next year, the class created a Google Earth map marking the location and species of each tree. Their survey tallied 35 living trees on the grounds today. Only four of the original trees planted in the early 1900s, remain standing,
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The students also made recommendations on where trees should be planted in the future, including open spaces where some had been removed due to storm damage, disease or age over the years. They also recommended certain species that would better fit spaces in the campuses current layout. About half of the 10-acre block is now occupied by buildings and asphalt so far fewer than the original number of trees will be needed.
Wethersfield's first superintendent, Frank H. Craig, planted 286 trees comprising 15 different species.
Back then, the Blish was the only building on the one-square-block campus. Set aside in the original village of Wethersfield as common property for use by the public, or commons, the square was used by residents to pasture their livestock and they parked wagons that left deep ruts in the sometimes swampy ground.
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Craig wanted something better for his students and went about planting trees and flower beds. The trees provided leaves to identify and the flower beds attracted butterflies, bees and birds for the students to study. There was also much more room for play than was normally found at schools of the time.
In a letter to the State School Superintendent about what he had done, Craig pointed out that students were "healthier, happier and better behaved" because of the enhanced outdoor environment. The school grounds also drew the public for picnics, family reunions and recreational activities such as tennis and baseball.
The task of putting Wethersfield's new trees into the ground fell to the high school's ag students and ag teacher Kate Rashid.
Last year the Class of 1970 planted a tree on front of the high school in memory of classmates who have died, and other classes, alumni and various individuals have made donations to the tree project.
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Kazubowski announced at the meeting that an anonymous member of the Class of 1967 has donated $100 in memory of class member Joe Murnan, and $100 in memory of classmate Richard Lindstrom.
The Garden Club of Kewanee, which plants a tree each spring, also donated this year's tree to the school where ag students planted it at the northeast corner of the Blish Building.
In addition to providing more shade and filling open gaps where trees once stood, today's students are also learning how important trees are to everyone. According to climatologists, one mature tree absorbs carbon dioxide at the rate of 48 pounds per year, while providing a day's supply of oxygen for up to four people.
This spring's plantings raises the tree population on the old Wethersfield Commons from 35 to 50 and the school hopes to fill more spaces on the map with trees as funds are donated to the project.
This article originally appeared on Star Courier: There's a lot of people rooting for Blish's tree project to flourish
