by Annie '17 (photos from Julia '17)

For the past few months at Greene Street, a group of students has been working to fix up the tree lab, a space on our campus that is frequently overlooked. Kristin Shipler, the third through eighth grade Spanish teacher, started it all by offering a tree lab elective as a part of the Middle School choices program. Middle school students meet with their choices groups most Wednesdays. The tree lab efforts have since expanded. Currently, any middle school student who is interested in participating can help out during recess on Mondays. So, far the group added a path to the tree lab, painted the benches, picked up litter, made a sign for the gate, raked, and weeded.

Students are excited about the work being done in the tree lab. Sixth grade student Julia said, “It’s nice to be in the sun instead of in a cramped classroom.” Student Josie said, “I think that it’s really great that there are students trying to [clean up] the tree lab because it’s...such a great space that we have, and it’s been really neglected. I’m really happy to see it be cleaned up.” When asked why she decided to start the tree lab choice, Kristin replied, "When I saw that Greene Street had a space that's kind of hidden, that is so precious and so beautiful, I thought it'd be great for the school to have more opportunities to use it." Lucy, a sixth grader who is part of the tree lab choice, said, "I really like working outdoors, and I think it's really fun to help our environment and clean up. It means a lot to me that our community is happy." Georgia, another sixth grade volunteer, also feels good when she helps out in the tree lab: "I feel like the tree lab group and I are just helping the whole community."

So far, the tree lab group has made a lot of progress. According to Lucy, they have “painted the benches...weeded, and taken out some of the leaves and thorns to make it a safer environment for children.” Kristin said, “It was really fun using it during our Earth Day activity with the third and fifth grade. We had a scavenger hunt in there, which was really fun, and a couple of classes have chosen to hold class out here, specifically the art program. Eighth grade held their differentiated Meeting for Worship in the tree lab.” Hopefully, the work that has been done will be put to good use. The tree lab group has more plans for the future, so stay on the lookout!