This week, more than 150 Leelanau County kindergarteners went home from school carrying something a little unusual: an Eastern White Pine seedling of their own.
The Leelanau Conservation District recently completed the first year of MY FIRST TREE, a new program designed to introduce young children—and their families—to the trees, forests, and natural places that surround them.
District Forester Jake Bournay and Executive Director Jake Moord visited kindergarten classrooms at five local schools. Each visit began with Little Pine, a children’s story about a young pine discovering its place in the forest. Students then met an Eastern White Pine of their own, learning one of the simplest ways to recognize the species: its needles grow in bundles of five.
