News And Stories
Students return to go green again
By Eric Johnson/Austin Daily Herald
Pictured at right: Austin High School senior Aubrey Harber works with Jordan Tan and other Southgate Elementary students in pulling weeds around Southgate during the 13th Annual Tree Trust Day Friday morning. Harber was one of several seniors helping out and who were among the first to take part in the day when she was a kindergarten student in 1995.
Thirteen years after their first year at Southgate Elementary School, a group of former kindergartners returned Friday morning to help celebrate a milestone.
Friday was the 13th Annual Tree Trust Day at Southgate and on hand were a group of Austin High School seniors who were kindergartners when the Gators had their first Tree Trust Day in 1995.
"It feels good," senior Brooke Monson said before an assembly in the cafeteria gym. "Everybody has been talking about it all week. We're all excited to be back."
The seniors were at Southgate to take part in the Tree Trust Day as well, helping the elementary students clean up the school grounds, in particular the area outside the now unused kindergarten wing of the school.
Since all of Austin's kindergartners have been consolidated to Woodson Kindergarten Center, the area outside Southgate's wing has grown over with weeds and tall grasses.
"It's wonderful," fifth-grade teacher and AHS wrestling coach Bill Kinney said. "They have been really eager to take part as well."
The event was also a reunion for former Southgate students and former Southgate principal Don Fox.
"It's overwhelming," Fox said. "These kids were knee-high to a grasshopper when I knew them."
Fox and the Southgate faculty were the driving force in bringing Tree Trust Day to Southgate and Austin.
Founded in the Twin Cities in 1976, the Tree Trust program was largely confined to the Twin Cities Metropolitan area until 1995 when Southgate became the first school outside of the Cities and in Austin to take part.
"Southgate has been No. 1 in a lot of things and Southgate was No. 1 in Tree Trust," Fox said, speaking to the gathered students. "The teachers voted the Tree Trust in.
"Southgate was first in Austin to have Tree Trust and that's because of our teachers who put everything together."
The effect has been obvious.
"The outside of Southgate school is absolutely beautiful," Fox said.
For more information on Tree Trust's Learning With Trees school program . . .
Tree Trust
2350 Wycliff Street Suite 200
Saint Paul, MN 55114
Phone: 651-644-5800
Fax: 651-644-1469
