Stewardship Tasks with Students

© Ayesha Ercelawn

Tips, Strategies, and Resources

Once your trees are planted, your schoolyard forest will need care. Involving students in caring for trees builds their confidence as active stewards; fosters a sense of attachment, connection, and responsibility; and empowers students to make a positive difference.

Young trees need to be watered, weeded, and mulched. Tree growth and health also need to be monitored on a regular basis, and some staking and basic pruning tasks will be necessary. Students can and should be involved in all these tasks. 

Tree care should ideally be folded into the school schedule and become embedded into the school’s routines. Students can learn about and perform these tasks during regular class time, extracurricular classes, or during before- and after-school sessions. Schools can also build tree maintenance into service learning, existing “green teams,” career technical education (such as our Schoolyard Forest Rangers℠ program), high school internships, and any other existing structures for student engagement or environmental leadership on campus.

The main tasks required for caring for trees once they are in the ground are watering, weeding, mulching, raking, sweeping, pruning, and monitoring tree health. Below you will find a basic overview of what is included in each task, how to do it with students, and additional resources that provide more information. To connect academics to stewardship tasks, also check out our resource on Stewardship-infused Lessons by Grade.

Click on the links below to navigate directly to each subject area or scroll down to browse.

Watering

© Ayesha Ercelawn

Watering is a critical activity for young trees and a great activity for engaging students in stewardship. Installing drip irrigation is an important addition for when students can't do the task. 

Tips on Watering with Students 

  • Watering should be done at the base of the plant (where the roots are hidden) rather than the leaves. Model this for students.

  • Slow, long, and deep watering is better for tree survival than frequent shallow watering.

  • Shoes and legs may get wet. Discuss this in advance and model a relaxed attitude. Younger students can be supported through big emotions by a teacher pretending that the student is growing leaves because their “shoe roots” are wet and happy.

  • Have a change of clothes for young children available if possible or extra time to stay outside and dry out in the sun after watering.

  • For young children, get small watering cans or cups that children can easily lift—no larger than a half-gallon size. 

  • Water the right amount—not too much and not too little. If students make too big a puddle, remind them it is time to move on. If they tend to sprinkle just a few drops, suggest they count or sing to 10 before moving on.

  • Older students can be involved in monitoring whether the irrigation system is working by watching for whether the soil seems wet or always dry, if there are leaks or puddles to be reported, or if there seem to be animal chew marks on pipes. This could be a daily, weekly, or monthly activity.

  • Pay attention to the weather along with your students to determine if watering is actually needed.

  • Remember to have fun and enjoy the sparkles of water drops!

  • Further Resources:

Rainwater Catchment

© AYESHA ERCELAWN

Rain barrels and other water catchment systems at schools are ways to sustainably source water, while creating further outdoor educational opportunities. Many schools have experience in installing these systems. Check if your state has any specific restrictions. The below website resources will provide you with an overview and installation tips.

Rain Gardens for Schools — North Central Wisconsin Stormwater Coalition.
This two-page summary is helpful for understanding how these shallow depressions with plantings can capture stormwater and recharge groundwater.

Rain Barrels and Cisterns — Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association
This is an installation and maintenance fact sheet.

Rainwater Harvesting — TreePeople
This site has multiple resources in both English and Spanish, including articles and how-to videos.

Weeding

Your schoolyard forest may need regular weeding by students. Weeds can compete for moisture as well as block sun from young saplings. Weed seeds commonly drift in on the wind, come in with the soil, or show up via bird droppings or animal caching. Weeding tasks produce a wonderful variety of uprooted plants that can be picked apart as needed and used in science, math, and environmental literacy lessons.

Tips on Weeding with Students 

  • Trowels or other weeding tools can help with difficult-to-pull weeds. Demonstrate safe handling of tools before using them.

  • Use gloves if weeds are prickly.

  • Have buckets ready to hold pulled weeds.

  • Demonstrate how to pull out the entire plant, including the root. Many weeds will sprout back if there are roots left in the ground. This is where trowels or other tools can help.

  • Pull out weeds before they start to grow seeds to prevent a whole new crop of that species from growing again.

  • Use weeds for classroom science lessons.

  • Weeds can be composted in municipal compost facilities that get hot enough to kill weed seeds. Do NOT put weeds into a school garden compost bin, which is generally a cold compost method. Some weeds regrow from small sections and others may have seeds that will sprout when the compost is used elsewhere.

© PAIGE GREEN

Mulching

Mulching around trees with natural materials helps conserve water, keeps soil temperatures more moderate, adds nutrients to the soil over time, sequesters carbon in the soil, and provides habitat for many small organisms, including pollinators in the winter. Mulching mimics the natural leaf litter (dead and dying leaves) that would occur under trees in an established forest. Ideally, a tree’s dropped leaves or needles should also be left in place under trees or gathered from nearby and used for mulching. Fallen leaves are a valuable source of nutrients as they decompose and provide valuable habitat for many insect species to overwinter. Maintaining a mulch layer also reduces the possibility of mud being tracked into buildings.

Children love participating in the task of moving and spreading mulch where needed.  Students of all ages also enjoy raking fallen leaves.

© AYESHA ERCELAWN

Tips on Mulching with Students 

  • Shovel handling and safety should be demonstrated before use. For example, the shovel blade always stays close to the ground, near feet not heads. Students handling shovels need to be spaced out and visually supervised.

  • Mulch to a depth of 3 to 4 inches around trees to cover the root system.

  • Keep mulch 2 to 3 inches away from the base of the tree trunk to prevent disease, such as collar rot. Wind, rain, and student feet will all displace mulch, so this will be an ongoing task.

  • Handling wood chips can result in splinters. Provide garden gloves and suggest that students wear closed-toed shoes on workdays.

  • Students can move mulch from a pile in buckets, wheelbarrows, or any other available containers. “Bucket brigades,” where students stand in a line and pass buckets in one direction, are a fun strategy to demonstrate.

  • Please note that many of the declining native bee species need unmulched, bare dirt for ground nests. These bee species are not aggressive to humans. Try to leave some clearly designated spots without mulch. 

  • Further Resources: 

Raking and Sweeping

Rakes and brooms are an important tool to have on hand in any schoolyard forest or living schoolyard setting. They can be used to clear pathways of debris, clear mulch when necessary, gather leaves and other fallen materials, and keep living schoolyard areas looking their best. Fallen leaves are a valuable source of nutrients as they decompose and provide habitat for many insect species to overwinter. 

Tips on Raking and Sweeping with Students

  • Rake and broom handling and safety should be demonstrated before use. For example, the rake tines should always stay close to the ground, near feet not heads. Young students handling long-handled rakes and brooms need to be spaced out and visually supervised.

  • Have the appropriate size rakes and brooms on hand. Small, child-sized rakes can be added to the tool supplies.

  • Plan for a place for students to have the joy of jumping in a large leaf pile before it is moved elsewhere. 

  • Have buckets ready if raked leaves will be moved after gathering them.

  • Leaf piles can be spread under trees as a natural mulch or composted. Leaves decomposing under trees are important habitat, build up the soil with organic matter, help with soil water retention, and help suppress weeds.

  • Further Resources: 

© AYESHA ERCELAWN

Pruning

Pruning and trimming may be needed for the health of a tree or for safety reasons. Pruning requires more expertise than other tree care tasks and is generally best done with a trained horticulturist or certified arborist. Students in Grade 5 and older can learn how to handle pruning tools safely and participate in the pruning of small branches or suckers under the supervision of these professionals.

Keep in mind that pruning can introduce disease through the wound and therefore should only be done when necessary. Over-pruning and large branch cuts, such as “topping,” can result in future problems for the trees’ health. Bird nesting season also needs to be avoided. The timing varies by region and bird species but generally pruning and tree trimming is recommended only during the fall/early winter. Local, state, and federal laws protect some birds and their nests. For more information on local nesting birds, contact your local Audubon chapter.

Schools may choose to leave, rather than prune, the lowest branches on trees for easier observation by students of leaves, buds, flowers, and fruit. This fosters scientific study and deeper engagement with the tree.

Tips on Pruning with Students 

  • A safety session on handling sharp pruning tools should be the first step. 

  • Hand pruners and loppers are good starting tools for pruning small-diameter branches. 

  • For larger pruning tasks, a professional (volunteer or hired) may be needed. Any arborists should be certified as such.

  • Dead, damaged, or diseased branches (the three D’s) are the first priority in pruning most trees.

  • Disinfect tools after pruning diseased branches. A 70% ethanol solution can be used.

  • Further Resources:

© Ayesha Ercelawn

Monitoring Tree Health

Students can play a vital role in monitoring the health of school trees while also developing their observational skills and knowledge of tree biology and ecosystems. Healthy trees live longer and are safer for a schoolyard. Regular monitoring helps ensure that any issues are taken care of before they become significant. Trees that are stressed, such as from lack of water, extreme temperatures, or soil compaction, are more susceptible to large-scale insect outbreaks and diseases. 

Plants have many of their own defenses, so you may not need to take any action when you notice a tree with insect and disease damage, other than continuing to monitor it. Some insect damage is natural and a vital part of the ecosystem since most insects are essential food sources for other species, such as birds, lizards, spiders, and small mammals. Insects eating leaves may also be the larvae (young) of species you would be delighted to see, like butterflies! 

© Ayesha Ercelawn

A large insect outbreak, however, may lead to serious tree health issues, depending on the species of insect and tree. If you notice signs of this, it is best to consult a certified arborist for advice, if possible. We remind everyone that pesticides are unsafe to use around children, pollinating bees, and other species. There are many IPM alternatives to chemical pesticides.

Tips on Monitoring Tree Health with Students 

  • Monitor trees once a month (or whenever you can). Guided survey worksheets for different age groups are provided in the Stewardship Lessons section.

  • Demonstrate to students how to look at all the reachable parts of a tree and at both surfaces of the leaves—the top and the underside.

  • Demonstrate keeping leaves attached to the tree rather than picking them while checking their surfaces.

  • Remind students that some damage is normal and is a sign of a healthy habitat.

  • Reassure students that humans do not get sick from plant diseases.

  • Damage to more than 10% of the tree’s leaves might be cause for concern. Follow up with a professional arborist.

© Ayesha Ercelawn

Further Resources:

Schoolyard Forest System℠

The Schoolyard Forest System℠ Resource Library is a set of practical tools for schools and districts working to increase tree canopy on public school grounds to shade and protect PreK-12 students from extreme heat and rising temperatures due to climate change. Funding for the first phase of this initiative was provided by a grant administered by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) Urban and Community Forestry Program, and private philanthropy.