Elk Hills Students Plant 40 Trees for Earth Day Celebration

The students of the Elk Hills School District are giving their school a gift that will be passed down for generations to come. In celebration of Earth Day Wednesday, they came together with volunteers in the community to plant 40 sapling trees on campus grounds.

Energy company California Resources Corporation (CRC), which operates in Elk Hills, has participated in an annual tradition of planting trees at local parks and schools every Earth Day. CRC partnered with the school district and the nonprofit, Tree Foundation of Kern, to provide a selection of drought-resistant trees that will work well with the campus.

“We love it,” said Superintendent Tiffany Touchstone. “I can already see how excited [the students] are, and we really felt like it would be a big boost for them.”

Beginning in the 1970s, Earth Day has been celebrated on April 22 to encourage people to take care of the planet. Earth Day also teaches people about problems like pollution and climate change. Celebrations often include planting trees, picking up trash, saving water, or recycling.

Students ranging from kindergarten through eighth grade were divided into teams and worked to get the trees planted. More than 65 volunteers from CRC came out to assist with the project, teaching the kids how to hold a shovel and drive support stakes into the ground.

What started as a plan for a one-day celebration turned into a week-long lesson for the students. In addition to practical, hands-on learning with the trees themselves, the students also learned about the importance of Earth Day, conservation efforts, carbon emissions, the water cycle, agriculture, and more.

Gabriela Gonzales, who works with CRC External Affairs, helped to plan this Earth Day celebration. She says Earth Day is one of her favorite events because the students and volunteers are providing an act of service, helping improve their community, and making memories they will treasure the rest of their lives.

“I would love for these kids to come back one day and say, I planted that tree right there,” Gonzales said.  

Touchstone agreed, saying this event also helps students take pride in their school and ownership of the trees they planted.

“We’ve been working hard to have our kids get invested in their campus. This is their school, their community,” she said. “We want these kids to come by and see those trees and know that they had an actual, physical hand in planting them.”

Students circle the newly-planted sapling, stomping the excess dirt into the ground.