Trees Atlanta Acquires A New Environmental Education Program
Trees Atlanta Acquires A New Environmental Education Program
“Birds, Butterflies, And Bees” Program focuses on planting trees & gardens in
Metro Atlanta schools
Atlanta, GA (July 16, 2012) – Trees Atlanta is excited to announce that the program Birds, Butterflies, and Bees (BBB) is now part of Trees Atlanta’s environmental educational programming. BBB comprises two programs called Environmental Artscapes and the Native Garden Project, which will work with Metro Atlanta schools – particularly those along the BeltLine – helping students and communities create pollinator gardens full of native plants and trees.
Formerly part of the nonprofit EcoAddendum founded by Pandra Williams, BBB has been working in Atlanta for the past three years, using art and gardening to educate elementary and high school students about native plants, pollinators, and their importance to our ecosystem. BBB has put nearly 6,000 native plants back into our Georgia landscape by planting dozens of school pollinator gardens and native plant installations in community green spaces. Working together with Trees Atlanta, BBB programming will continue to grow, serve, and educate students and gardeners throughout the Atlanta area.
Trees Atlanta’s environmental education programming currently includes TreeKeepers, which is a seven-week workshop that trains and certifies Atlanta citizens as urban tree stewards (registration now open), and the Atlanta Beltline Arboretum Docent Program, which will provide guided walking tours on the BeltLine to Arboretum visitors, starting in Fall 2012. With BBB added to the mix, Trees Atlanta will once again connect directly to schools, as we did with our BeltLine Education Program which was disbanded in 2009 due to budget cuts.
“We are thrilled to revive our environmental education programming in schools because it is a key element of our mission,” says Greg Levine, Co-Executive Director and Chief Program Officer of Trees Atlanta. “The work that we do today – restoring the urban forest, planting trees, and removing invasive plants – has no future if we don’t educate, engage, and empower the next generation with the tools to keep it strong and healthy.”
“The BBB program is hands-on and fueled by art, which presents a unique opportunity for ‘edu-tainment’ for the students,” says Kate Baltzell, Education Coordinator at Trees Atlanta. Combining BBB programming with Trees Atlanta’s longstanding work in the community means that more students can foster a love of nature and a sense of ownership for its continued preservation.
Learn more about the program at www.treesatlanta.org, or contact BBB coordinator Lauren Sandoval at Lauren@treesatlanta.org or 404-681-4898.
