Engaging Mecklenburg County Public Schools students through education and planting

Creating habitats and restoring biodiversity in Mecklenburg County, Virginia through the Chase City Conservancy Project now includes the local public school system where students are learning about the importance of seeds and looking ahead into the environmental future of trees.

Mecklenburg County Public Schools (MCPS) and volunteers from the Microsoft datacenters in the Boydton area led educational and tree planting workshops for more than 70 students in November 2022. The hands-on workshops included viability float testing hardwood seeds, filling nine raised beds with topsoil and organic matter, and planting ten rows of hardwoods for the autumn 2023 harvest season. Around 3,000 seeds were planted with the goal of harvesting 1,500 trees. The trees then have the chance to be relocated to Conservancy community location. On the second day of the workshop, students learned about career opportunities within Microsoft, building a sustainable future and the value of these trees for the environment and their community.

Microsoft donated two state-of-the-art greenhouses to the Mecklenburg County Public Schools (located at the rear of the new High School/Middle School complex) to support the tree-planting effort and other public school agricultural and CTE programs and initiatives. The Chase City Conservancy tree planting program partnered with MCPS and the Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF) to develop the K-12 tree and seedling education program and curriculum.

“Mecklenburg County Public Schools are very appreciative of the partnership with Microsoft that has led to the donation of hydroponic growing equipment for our elementary schools as a career introduction program for our Environmental Science Academy, and for the donation of two greenhouses that will provide career exploration options for middle school students and career integration opportunities for our high school students.”  —Paul Nichols, Superintendent of Mecklenburg County Public Schools
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