TEA Hosts the Inaugural Truckee Earth Day
Over 350 hundred students from Kindergarten - 12th Grade came together to benefit our beautiful environment.
We’re a community of doers at TEA. So much so, that when we envisioned “Earth Day at TEA,” we thought about creating a hands-on event where we’d make an actual difference. We wanted to do environmental stewardship projects across the community, with children from all of the Tahoe/Truckee area schools and service groups participating.
And we’re proud to announce that April 20, 2018, was the beginning of our vision; the Inaugural Truckee Earth Day. The goal for year one was to partner with one of our sister Truckee schools (Sierra Expeditionary Learning School) and do some good.
Students lead the way to a better world through EL's Better World Project initiative
we were able to put over 350 students into the field around Truckee to make a significant impact
We were fortunate to have several non-profit organizations join us for the day including the Tahoe Institute for Natural Sciences (TINS), the Sugar Pine Foundation, Truckee Donner Land Trust, Truckee Trails, and the USFS.
And several Truckee-area businesses including 34 North, Truckee Tahoe Lumber Company, The Villager Nursery, and Northstar-at-Tahoe joined the day by providing materials, expertise, and plenty of elbow grease. With all of this support we were able to put over 350 students into the field around Truckee to make a significant impact.
Along side the Sugar Pine Foundation, students planted just over one hundred sugar pine saplings while also conducting valuable tree health research in the area.
Kindergarten - 3rd Graders Project: Habitats
The Kindergarten – 3rd graders completed a day of service around habitats. On the new 42-acre TEA Basecamp in Martis Valley, the crews built bug habitats, bird houses, pollinator planter boxes, and a community mural all while learning about the local habitats of bugs, bats, birds, frogs and more.
Truckee Tahoe Lumber and The Villager Nursery donated materials and Northstar-at-Tahoe staffers, along with lots of parents and teachers, were on hand to help execute the projects. The Tahoe Institute for Natural Sciences led the learning component of the day with naturalist guided habitat hikes.
Thank you to Truckee Tahoe Lumber and The Villager Nursery for donating materials, Northstar-at-Tahoe for providing staffers, and to the Tahoe Institute for Natural Sciences for leading the learning component of the day.
4th - 6th Graders Project: Healthy Watersheds
The 4-6th graders completed a day of service around healthy watersheds. The crews ventured into the Martis Creek area just behind TEA’s Basecamp. With the expert guidance of 34 North, a local environmental technology company, the students gathered water samples in various sites throughout the Martis Valley.
The quality of the water was tested and documented. This data will be fed into an international study of water quality for research and assessment at a much more global level.
Thank you to 34 North for the expert guidance throughout the day.
7th and 8th Graders Project: Forest Health
The 7th and 8th graders completed a day of service around forest health. They hiked several miles into the Waddle Ranch area to work with the Sugar Pine Foundation.
The students planted just over one hundred sugar pine saplings while also conducting valuable tree health research in the area.
Thank you to The Sugar Pine Foundation for the guidance throughout the day.
9th - 12th Graders Project: Trail Creation and Preservation
The 9-12th graders completed a day of service around trail creation and preservation. Their day kicked off by learning about the trail permitting process and how to build an environmentally low impact trail through a presentation from the Truckee Donner Land Trust.
With their background knowledge they then set off to complete a restoration project on the Lloyd’s trail in Truckee with Truckee Trails and the USFS.
Thank you to the USFS, Truckee Trails, and the Truckee Donner Land Trust for the instruction and support throughout the day.
By the day's end, over 350 students from two different schools and 50 volunteers came together to complete over 1200 hours of service work in a single day. Our vision for the future is 4000+ students and 12,000+ hours of service, all benefiting the amazing environmental ecosystem of Truckee.
