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Compton’s
Centennial High Greens Up
On-campus Tree
People club breathes new life into school grounds with planting of
trees
By
Allison Jean Eaton
Bulletin
Staff Writer
Besides
getting out of class for most of the day, 120 students at a local
high school enjoyed some time outdoors beautifying their campus earlier
this month.
Over the two-day event Friday and Saturday, Nov. 16 and 17 at Centennial
High, 34 trees were planted in and around the school grounds — especially
in between buildings.
And it wasn’t just all about school beautification, but becoming
stewards of the environment, too.
Biology teacher Nicole DiRanna said trees with abundant canopies
were specifically selected for certain areas on campus to cut down on utility
costs.
“We looked up and down [between buildings] and we saw that there
were trees missing in these aisle ways and the sun was shining directly
on these
buildings, so we wanted to try to cut costs for air conditioning.”
DiRanna heads the Central Avenue school’s Tree People Club, which
launched last March.
Tree People is a greater Los Angeles area nonprofit aimed at “helping
nature heal our cities” through the planting of and caring for trees,
especially in urban, inner-city locations. DiRanna discovered it through
an environmental program of Disney’s, where she said her sister used
to work.
Boasting a membership of about 30, the club connects students with
their environment as well as provides them with a set of nature-centric
skills.
“They’ve been trained in how to properly plant trees, and they
are now officially Tree People planting supervisors,” meaning they
can participate in plantings elsewhere while representing the school, DiRanna
explained.
The training consisted of lessons in soil testing, selecting trees
that will thrive in specific soil types and how deep to dig in addition
to after-care.
Once the club tested the school’s soil, next came species selection.
“Based on the colors of our school and the murals that we just got
painted last year, we chose [flowering] trees that have purple colors,
and yellow and some pink in them to help bring out the colors of
the murals,” she
said.
Among the species planted are sweet shades, pink trumpets, golden
rains, purple orchids and tipus.
Finally, the students mapped out where the variety of saplings would
be planted. In some instances, they even dug up concrete and black top
to green up certain spots including the quad.
Come planting day Nov. 16, club members joined fellow student volunteers
recommended by teachers to get their hands dirty alongside Tree People
representatives.
DiRanna said that on the following day, which included tree adoption
and renaming ceremonies, the Apache football team was slated to come out
and pitch in.
Despite all of the good-natured effort, the trees did not come free.
DiRanna estimated their cost, as well as additional costs from the two-day
event, at about $7,000 when all was said and done.
Luckily, another area nonprofit stepped up to the plate to make the
tree planting activities a reality.
More Plants Not Walls covered the tree costs while the Centennial
Tree People Club covered the cost of the DJ, food and T-shirts each participating
student received that read “A tree grows in Compton.”
The club plans to apply for a grant to secure funding for the installation
of benches and flowers to further enhance the school’s natural habitat.
For DiRanna, who’s been teaching for four years and has been at Centennial
for three, the club is more than just getting inner-city kids in touch
with nature. It’s also introducing them to leadership.
“These kids have got an amazing opportunity to do some leadership
skills,” she said.
One student in particular stands out in her mind.
Senior Edwin Salas, 18, has blossomed as a result of his participation.
He joined the club during its formation.
“He’s a pretty well-organized kid who never really had the
opportunity to step up and be a leader, and since he’s had the opportunity
to do this, he’s just completely changed.”
Taking a break from assisting in planting a sweet shade, Salas, a
certified Tree People planting supervisor, told The Bulletin his A.P. U.S.
History teacher recommended he join the club.
“That’s how it started. I just got into it and got more of
my friends involved in it,” he said.
In his eyes, the benefits of the club’s activities go beyond taking
care of the environment.
“One, it’s to bring unity to the school and to beautify it,” he
said. “Also, just to get everybody involved in doing something positive
for the school.”
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