First-grade Teacher Wins Tree Grant for School

Alicia Lindsey, of Mansfield Elementary near Covington, has secured a new resource for the her school: she won a $5,000 tree planting grant from the Georgia Forestry Commission. After talking with GFC forester Beryl Budd, Lindsey decided to apply for the grant hoping to gain more shade for the school grounds and provide new educational tools for students.

The Georgia Forestry Commission has provided this grant since 2005, and since awarded it to more than a dozen schools throughout Georgia.

Over the holiday break, volunteers from school staff, parents, city and county workers, the Service Guild of Covington, and Hands on Newton, all banded together to install 40 new trees. Species include a variety of oaks, maples, myrtle, cherry and elm trees. The diverse mix will produce an array of colors and blooms, with a mature canopy height of 60 to 80 feet.

Lindsey is looking forward to a cooler playground. The equipment sometimes gets so hot that the school has actually closed the playground down in August.

The City of Mansfield also installed a new water line so the school would be able to water the new trees.

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