The Forestry Division of the Arkansas Department of Agriculture selected 15 school playgrounds to participate in the Shade Trees on Playgrounds program, or STOP. A few area sites are included, according to a news release.
Locations include: McGehee High School, Gardner Strong Elementary School, William Jefferson Clinton Primary School (Hope), Earle Elementary School, Holly Harshman Elementary School (Mena), Smackover Preschool, Parkway Elementary School (Bryant), Oliver Springs Elementary School (Van Buren), Prairie Grove Middle School, Ruth Doyle Middle School (Conway), Raymond and Phyllis Simon Middle School (Conway), Perryville Elementary School, Arkansas School for the Blind, Blessed Sacrament School (Jonesboro), and Mountain Home Montessori.
STOP was organized to lower adult skin cancer risk by reducing childhood exposure to direct sunlight where children play, such as on school playgrounds, according to the release.
Winning schools receive five shade trees, mulch, watering supplies and planting guidelines after participating in training.
“The STOP program combines hands-on, outdoor experiences with classroom curriculum about the importance of trees and how to care for trees,” said Kristine Kimbro Thomason, Urban and Community Forestry Program coordinator. “We hope this program not only improves the health of Arkansas students but also leaves a lasting impression about the value of forests and how to be good stewards of our natural resources.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Schools are invited to submit STOP applications annually. To qualify, participating schools must lack shade, participate in a virtual STOP workshop, agree to use Forestry Division curriculum to emphasize the importance of trees and forestry in Arkansas, hold a tree-planting ceremony with students and agree to long-term maintenance of the planted shade trees. Forestry Division personnel assist with the transport and planting of the trees.
Trees for each campus are chosen by local Forestry Division staff to fit the unique region and conditions of each playground, and they are purchased from local nurseries and suppliers.
Details: www.agriculture.arkansas.gov/forestry/urban-community-forestry, Kristine Kimbro Thomason at (479) 228-7929 or kristine.thomason@agriculture.arkansas.gov, or Harold Fisher at (501) 580-4054 or harold.fisher@agriculture.arkansas.gov.