The Wildlife for Everyone Endowment Foundation funds Seedlings for Schools, an educational program that is available for all schools in the state.

Last year 124,375 seedlings were shipped to 569 schools. Each child receives a seedling to take home to plant, plus a lesson plan on how to properly harvest trees. The total cost to the school is free, WFEEF picks up all the shipping cost, and Howard Nursery donates the seedlings.

Most of the seedlings are shipped from the Game Commission Howard Nursery in Centre County in time for Arbor Day. These trees are part of the "Seedlings for Your Class" component of the program aimed primarily at third grade students, but many preschool and all elementary students can participate in this program.

Each class or grade level receives enough silky dogwood or white pine seedlings for each student to take one home. In addition, the seedlings come with an education package for the teacher. The teacher gets to teach a whole program around the trees, environment and the importance of planting trees in your local community.

Some of the seedlings also are shipped for the "Seedlings to Develop Habitats" element of the program.   This module is aimed at middle and high school students interested in planting them on school property, community grounds, or along a stream corridor. They are also planted to improve habitat, a tree nursery or in an environmental area.

This year marked the fifth anniversary of the "Seedlings For Schools" program.  Wildlife For Everyone Endowment Foundation hopes you will join the following partners: Waste Management, Mealey's Furniture, Pheasants Forever Chapter 603, Best Buy Mobile - Nittany Mall and Kohl's - State College to support  Seedlings for Schools.

"We were very excited to get involved because all of us, when we were in elementary school many years ago, used to get seedlings to take home and plant in our yards.  And that left an impression on all of us," said Vern Ross, Executive Director of Wildlife for Everyone.

For more information, visit the Wildlife for Everyone website for student and teacher guides for the Seedlings for Schools Program.  Click Here to watch a video on how Pennsylvania’s wildlife need you.

12/31/2012