Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Susie Pickering

Oak Lane Day School

137 Stenton Ave, Blue Bell, PA 19422

Phone: 610-825-1055

Fax: 610-825-9288

Email: spickering@oaklanedayschool.org

Oak Lane Day School Hosts a Tree-Planting Workshop for Pennsylvania Teachers

In keeping with its commitment to improving and maintaining the health of the environment, Oak Lane Day School recently hosted a tree-planting workshop organized by the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary. Teachers came to learn how to incorporate trees into their existing curriculum with information about the importance of trees to the environment, tree identification, and proper planting techniques.

Oak Lane science teacher Dottie Baumgarten was on hand to help welcome the 17 Pennsylvania public and private school teachers who attended the workshop. “The Partnership is a fantastic organization whose goal is the improvement of the environment so that the Delaware Bay is usable and sustainable. What we do here impacts their work, so we at Oak Lane are very eager and pleased to be a part of this learning opportunity.”  

The Oak Lane campus is itself a National Wildlife Federation Schoolyard Habitat, which is currently a work in progress as invasive foreign species are being removed and replaced with native plants. As more and more of these native plants are introduced, the campus becomes healthier which in turn improves the health of the Wissahickon watershed that eventually empties into the Delaware Bay.

The workshop not only provided invaluable information but the tools to get the job done as well. Each teacher received from the Partnership two native Pennsylvanian trees (redbud and red cedar), shovels, gloves, weed guards to help protect the young trees, age-appropriate student resource books, and a handy basket in which to carry it all. Dottie took the participants on a tour of Oak Lane's campus indicating where foreign species have been replaced by native plants and trees to highlight the benefit of incorporating the workshop into other school communities. Jenn Jones of the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary expressed great enthusiasm for Oak Lane as a setting for the workshop.

“The best part of a workshop like this is the collaboration that occurs,” reported Dottie. “The participating teachers themselves have real expertise in their fields and to be able to discuss the issues of conservation and sustainability as a group only strengthens the message being sent by the Partnership.”

Oak Lane Day School Information

An independent elementary school, founded in 1916 and located in Blue Bell, Oak Lane Day School serves a diverse population of boys and girls. Oak Lane honors each child's unique individuality while fostering intellectual, creative, academic, and personal growth within a diverse community of active, engaged learners. Small class sizes and an atmosphere that encourages children to develop their academic and social skills are priorities at Oak Lane, where learning is a meaningful and joyous pursuit. Oak Lane's country-like property of 30 acres along Butler Pike and Stenton Avenue boasts a stream, pond, woods, meadows, and specimen trees as well as athletic fields and playgrounds.

Oak Lane Day School is accredited by the Pennsylvania Association of Independent Schools (PAIS), and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) and the Association of Delaware Valley Independent Schools (ADVIS).