Post by ridge on Sept 28, 2023 15:02:46 GMT -5
Jim and Steve Simms stand in front of a forest that students planted over the course of 25 years.
Flint teacher uses activity as a lesson on gratitude, service
By IRIS PAUL
Forest Resources Division
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Steve Simms wanted to give his students at St. John Vianney Catholic School in Flint lessons that would last them a lifetime.
By expanding his classroom outdoors, Simms created a legacy that will impact his students and future generations alike. Over the course of his 45-year-long career, Simms and his students planted thousands of trees across Genesee County.
Steve Simms wanted to give his students at St. John Vianney Catholic School in Flint lessons that would last them a lifetime.
By expanding his classroom outdoors, Simms created a legacy that will impact his students and future generations alike. Over the course of his 45-year-long career, Simms and his students planted thousands of trees across Genesee County.
Simms knew the value of trees from his own childhood. He and his brothers spent many summers planting pine seedlings on their family property.
Two students dig in the dirt getting ready to plant.
“My dad loved being surrounded by trees for the beautiful views, the privacy and for the wildlife,” Simms said.
Planting trees had been a way of life for Simms, who grew up experiencing the benefits and joys of forests.
For many Flint kids, that setting is unfamiliar. Studies show children from urban areas have fewer nature experiences.
Simms, who often incorporated experiential learning into his classes, saw tree planting as a natural fit for his students.
“I like to come up with things they wouldn’t normally have a chance to do,” he said.
Simms taught social studies, reading and religion to middle schoolers and saw being good stewards of the earth as relevant to all his courses.
“In religion class, teaching lessons on caring for one another, caring for nature and appreciating God’s gifts were very important to me. In social studies and reading, there were many lessons on the importance of a clean and healthy environment,” he said.
Simms taught during the Flint water crisis that began in 2014, where many residents were exposed to dangerous levels of lead in their drinking water. At the time, the connection between the environment and human well-being felt especially pressing.
In 1996, Simms’s seventh grade classes participated in a program sponsored by the City of Flint that provided tree seedlings and shovels for volunteer groups to plant trees in areas of need.
They only had the opportunity to participate for a couple of years before the program ended, but it was such a positive experience that Simms was committed to finding a way to continue the assignment.
Members of a school class work in a field on the tree planting project.
He started a collection of shovels and gardening gloves, keeping his eye out for sales at the local Menards store.
If a school family had trees that needed planting, Simms’s seventh graders would take a field trip to volunteer for the task. They even planted trees at the principal’s house on a couple of occasions.
Principal Kathleen Slattery said the hands-on lesson was a powerful tool in helping students learn about valuing the land. For Slattery’s own property, which had been cleared of trees for farmland in the past, she says the trees are an asset to the community.
The students beautified the once-bare land, which now has mature, 30-foot trees offering habitat for wildlife and contributing to a healthier environment.
"Thousands of trees planted by hundreds of students over the past three decades has been a legacy inspired by and implemented by Steve Simms," Slattery said. "Learning how to properly plant and value the land, as well as understanding that each of us can do a part to enhance and preserve our environment, were seeds planted in the students."
What gave the assignment staying power was when Simms’ brother, Jim Simms, offered to have the students come out to a lot he owned in a rural area of Genesee County.
The Simms brothers provided the trees, purchasing bulk seedlings from Vans Pines Nursery of West Olive and Needlefast Evergreens of Ludington.
The students planted mostly white pine, Michigan’s state tree, along with an assortment of other conifers. There was a lot of work behind the scenes before the students arrived.
Besides Simms watching for affordable shovels and ordering the seedlings, the land needed to be prepared. Simms’ brother cleared the planting area with a brush hog and tilled the soil for easier planting.
“We learned the hard way that having seventh graders try to dig through dry, hard soil to plant 500 trees was not the best experience,” Simms recalled.
Jim and Steve Simms stand in front of mature trees that students planted in 1998.
Over the course of 25 years, the planting outing developed into a festive, full-day experience. Held in late spring, the field trip helped keep restless students engaged as the school year drew to a close.
The seventh graders would start the day by visiting a local Catholic church for Mass, where the priest would incorporate scripture about the importance of being good stewards to the land.
At Simms’ brother’s lot, the students were instructed in good tree-planting techniques. Simms would center the experience with a prayer thanking God for this opportunity to be good stewards and to bless their efforts.
Jim Simms gave students baseball caps donated by his family’s car dealership. The kids got a kick out of choosing hats sporting Spartan green or Wolverine maize and blue.
Then they distributed shovels, gardening gloves, 25 seedlings per student and plenty of bug spray.
As students spent time outdoors, they made discoveries about nature beyond the trees they were planting. Simms said they had a lot of fun observing the wildlife around them, the insects they found crawling through the freshly turned soil or a busy ant hill.
Sometimes, a deer or a pheasant would make an appearance. Once, it started to rain during the planting, and Simms was sure the students would want to go home. He was pleasantly surprised when they said they found the warm shower refreshing.
After the seedlings were planted, the students were ready to have lunch at a nearby McDonald’s. The assignment was popular and well-known within the school community.
That inspired a parent who’d opened a nearby fieldhouse to invite the class to use the space. Students enjoyed a relaxing afternoon after a morning of hard work, bonding with one another while playing basketball and volleyball.
The 68-year-old teacher has since retired but enjoys volunteering as a teacher aide and supporting the next generation of educators. When he looks back on his legacy, Simms said planting the trees with the students was a wonderful experience – but it wasn’t just about the trees.
He fondly recalls hearing about a student who was able to confidently organize a service project with university classmates because of similar opportunities in Mr. Simms’ class.
For his past students, Simms hopes getting their hands in the dirt left a lasting impression about their abilities to care for the land around them, and that having done it before, they’ll have the skills to plant trees for a lifetime.
Planting trees in your community
Want to organize a tree planting event in your community? The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has opportunities for education, financial support and community building.
Natural Resources Conservation Service: Check with your county NRCS office about spring tree sales.
Urban and Community Forestry Program: Find tree planting resources and grant opportunities.
Project Learning Tree: Learn more about how to engage students in learning about natural resources.
Mi Trees: The Michigan DNR has committed to planting 50 million trees as part of the 1T.org campaign. If you’re interested in joining in the effort to reforest Michigan, register your planting on the Mi Trees community tree map.
Check out previous Showcasing the DNR stories in our archive at Michigan.gov/DNRStories.