Most of our schoolyards serve elementary and middle schools, so it was a thrill to work with some High School students this Spring at Central Park East High School. When a fungus took over a tree and called for it’s removal, the garden coordinator decided to call in some tree experts. Our friends at TreesNY are great for advising.

Rather than pay a lot of money to a company to remove the tree, the school decided to apply some elbow grease and grit. They let the teens prune back the branches.

We first discussed proper technique, wearing goggles, and safety tips. The teens loved the challenge of cutting back the branches.

Pruned branches offer an opportunity for bark dissection. We could look closely at the thin layer of green chloroplasts moving through the phloem cells directly underneath the peeled back bark.

We took a moment to investigate the fungus that invaded this tree by looking at it a little closer under the Magiscope.

As the tree dries out, they’ll work on wiggling the tree out of the tree pit! It was clear that we fostered a sense of agency by taking on the challenge, and they discovered some natural wonders along the way!