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April 24, 2007
Nearly 8,000 School Children To Plant Trees
In Dominion’s "Project Plant It!"
- New Environmental Program Offers Classroom Curriculum, Hands-On Experience
Richmond, Va. – Nearly 8,000 third-graders in
the Richmond area are participating this week in Dominion’s Project
Plant It!, a new environmental education program that coincides with
Arbor Day, which is Friday, April 27.
Project Plant It! was
created by Dominion as a community partnership with The National Arbor Day
Foundation, Chesterfield County Public Schools, Henrico County Public Schools
and Richmond Public Schools to educate children, plant trees and improve the
environment. Students in more than 350 classrooms are participating in the
program.
"Project Plant It! will allow our children
to learn the value of trees and our environment," said Eva Hardy, executive
vice president, External Affairs & Corporate Communications.
| Teachers participating in Project
Plant It! Received custom-designed lesson plans and classroom
materials earlier this month to help students learn the value of trees
and their important role in the environment. All of the
lesson plans address the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) requirements
for the third grade. |
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"Our third-grade teachers were thrilled that these
high-quality educational materials were easily made available to them at no
out-of-pocket cost," said
Dr. Ronald L. Carey, executive director-elementary education, Richmond City
Schools. "Richmond Public Schools looks forward to a continued collaboration
and support from Dominion as a friend to education."
Throughout this week
each of the participating students and their teachers will receive a blue spruce
seedling to plant at home. Schools were offered the option of receiving larger
trees to plant on school grounds as part of a group activity. Additionally,
Dominion’s certified arborists will be
making presentations on environmental science to third-grade classes in each
region.
"Trees help contribute to a healthy ecosystem and improve
air quality," said
John Rosenow, president of The National Arbor Day Foundation. " Project
Plant It! helps achieve our goal to educate and inspire young people
and adults to understand, plant and care for trees to build a better future."
Dominion's
donation of 8,000 blue spruce seedlings would be equivalent to more than 13
acres of new forest land at maturity, According to the Virginia Department
of Forestry.
Trees help to moderate climates, absorb carbon, release oxygen,
provide a habitat and food for wildlife, prevent soil erosion, lower heating
and cooling costs, and beautify communities. Planting trees in and around a
city can decrease local surface and air temperatures. Strategic planting around
homes and buildings can help keep interior temperatures cooler in the summer
and warmer in the winter, decreasing energy needs.
A Project Plant
It! Web site has been developed to provide
additional information to students, parents and teachers. For more information
on Project Plant It!, including a downloadable logo and photos,
visit www.projectplantit.com.
Hardy
said Dominion will look to expand Project Plant It! to
other schools next year if there is interest.
Dominion invests in its communities
through programs that assist families in need and the elderly, volunteer activities
and charitable giving. In 2007 the Dominion Foundation, the philanthropic arm
of Dominion, will invest more than $15 million to assist the communities served
by the company. A portion of these funds are used to support kindergarten through
grade 12 education, especially in the areas of math and science.
Dominion is
one of the nation's largest producers of energy, with an energy portfolio of
about 26,300 megawatts of generation. Dominion also serves retail energy
customers in 11 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the
company's Web site at www.dom.com.
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