By KRWG News
Las Cruces – Students from the Aztec Youth Academy in Las Cruces recently completed a tree planting project that offered valuable lessons in community forestry and landscape design.
The project, funded by the New Mexico Forest Re-Leaf Program, involved planting 27 native or well established trees around the John Paul Taylor Education Center.
Science teacher Grady Gentzler says the students were active in the project from the start. He says they planned everything from installation of the irrigation system to the design of a sign that will commemorate the project area.
Students planted four Southern oaks, one New Mexico olive, ten desert willows and 12 Afghan pines.
The program is administered through the New Mexico State Forestry Division. It provides grant funding to public entities for tree planting on public lands.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.