Conducting a tree planting activity with kids can mean much more than just enhancing your garden’s aesthetics. By doing such activities, you have the chance to “give back” something to the ecosystem by facilitating the arrival of more birds, insects, and other animals into your habitat.
Kids can gain personal knowledge of the life cycle when participating in gardening activities and working in a garden. This allows them to understand the satisfaction that comes from caring for something over time. In fact, gardening is a fantastic approach to promoting environmental consciousness of children.
Why shall we involve children in a tree-planting activity?
A garden is a wonderland for young children as it contains natural processes to observe and appreciate. It is never too early for children to start digging and planting so they can learn and observe how things grow and change. Sowing seeds and watching them grow is a fun pastime with numerous advantages for fostering Kids’ interest in the environment.
Benefits of Tree planting activity for kids
The benefits of tree planting activity for kids are numerous. It is almost similar to the benefits of gardening for children. Some of the significant advantages of this activity for children are listed below:
Responsibility
An essential step in taking care of other living creature is taking care of houseplants. Gardening helps kids to understand the meaning of responsibility by taking care of their trees and plants.
Self-confidence
Children will acquire confidence by accomplishing their objectives in gardening and eating the food they have grown.
Love of nature
Doing gardening activities with toddlers and Kids allow them to discover and learn about nature in a comfortable and secure atmosphere.
Reasoning and discovery
children get the opportunity to learn about plant science. For instance, they learn how seeds sprout, how plants consume nutrients, how plants grow, how a bud develops into a flower, etc. These discoveries can help the development of kids’ reasoning abilities.
Physical activity
One of the tasks that can be enjoyable and beneficial for kids’ physical health is digging in the soil and watering the plants. Children can stay healthy with such active activities.
Discipline
children become more disciplined over time if they give the plants daily, timely attention.
Tree planting activity steps for kids
You should be aware of the following tips before beginning the tree planting activity with kids :
Tips to Remember:
- You must plan for the planting site, the type of plant, the type of soil needed, etc.
- Select local tree species since they will be able to adapt to the soil and climate conditions best. Native fruit trees are a good option because they can yield fruits so that kids can see the result of their tree planting activity in the future.
- Although seedlings and small shrubs are simpler for kids to plant, young saplings with established root systems have a better chance of surviving.
- Assist your child in comprehending the plant life cycle, including how a tree’s roots allow it to drink water and how its leaves allow it to expand by absorbing sunlight.
Tree planting steps
Make sure you have the necessary supplies and tools before beginning the tree planting activity with kids.
Tools and Materials needed:
- One tree
- Watering can
- Spade
- Measuring tape
- Notebook
- Pencil or pen
- Camera (optional)
How to do tree planting
1. Select a tree. Usually, very young trees are sold bare-root. They will resemble sticks with a small amount of root at one. These kinds of trees should be planted when they are dormant. Before planting, the roots of very young trees need to soak for a few hours in a pail of water. Larger trees are frequently sold balled and wrapped in burlap. This indicates that the roots are covered with soil. On such occasions, anytime is a good time to plant these trees
2. Choose an appropriate location in your garden to plant the trees with kids. Make sure the tree receives the necessary quantity of sunshine to flourish.
3. Dig a hole and throw away the dirt, rocks, and sod clumps. The hole must be big enough for the roots to fit inside without being crowded.
- When planting bare-root trees, the hole should be a few inches bigger and deeper than the root’s spread.
- Before planting the balled-and-burlapped tree, you should gauge the size of the root ball and the depth of the hole. These trees should be planted in holes that are around three times the size of the balled part, with the root collar slightly elevated above the surrounding soil.
4. Insert the tree into the hole and fill it with dirt halfway. Add water to the remaining space in the hole. Once it has settled, add soil to the remaining space in the hole.
5. Using the remaining rocks and dirt mounds, create a saucer-shaped circle around the tree. You can mulch it after fully watering.
6. Stake the tree to prevent it from falling over due to severe winds, lawnmowers, or other dangers. In dry conditions, water thoroughly once a week.
Teach kids about trees
After conducting the tree planting activity with kids, it is time to teach them more about trees, their features, the advantages of trees for humans, their function in nature, and any facts about trees that can be fascinating and helpful to children.
Give kids responsibility
After talking about trees, it’s time to give kids ownership of the newly planted tree. Instead of planting a new tree, you can choose an existing one. Ask children to routinely water their trees and check out the health condition of their trees.
Ask children to examine their tree at the beginning of each month and write down their observations in their notes. This teaches kids more about trees and the natural world. Each month, Children must do the tasks listed below and respond to the questions:
- Measure the height of the tree.
- Count the number of branches
- Measure the circumference of the trunk.
- Take a picture of their tree.
- Draw a picture of the tree.
- What does the bark look like?
- Are there leaves on it? How many, if so? What color are they?
- Are there buds on it?
- Does it contain seeds or fruit, such as apples, acorns, or pinecones?
Conclusion
Planting trees is one way to preserve the environment, obtain cleaner, fresher air, and improve our surroundings’ aesthetics. We must teach children the value of conducting tree planting activities everywhere they can so that they will grow up understanding what they must do to leave a clean planet for their future offspring.
