Samohi Gardening Club Will Plant 189 Trees, Shrubs On Campus

SANTA MONICA, CA – The Santa Monica High School gardening club will be tending to almost 200 trees and shrubs in order to plant them on campus after the Discovery building is finished in 2021.

The Branching Out Tree Nursery will soon be home to 89 growing trees, mostly oaks, and more than 100 shrubs, the press release said. The nursery, located at the southwest corner of the football field at Pico and 4th streets, was dedicated at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday.

Current and future Samohi students, with adult support, will care for and nurture the plants until they can be transplanted. The gardening club worked closely with Caroline Coster, the district’s sustainability coordinator, who said the wider community helped bring the project to life. Tree People, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit, donated the acorns, and the City of Santa Monica has agreed to sponsor lessons for the students about whatever they need and want to know about raising trees and the environment in general, the press release said.

“Our main goals are to make this a long-term learning tool and build student ownership of the campus and encourage school pride,” Coster said.

The idea for the nursery, she said, came about after it was realized that trees would need to be replaced following completion of the new building. When someone asked “Why don’t we just grow our own trees?” the decision made to select drought-tolerant trees and shrubs to support the district’s water-use reduction goals.

Molly McGee, a senior who leads the gardening club, said the students don’t take the long-term responsibility lightly, according to SMMUSD.

“We’re really excited,” she said. “But we know there’s also so much work left to do. We won’t be students here any longer, but these trees will be here forever.”

Samohi Principal Dr. Antonio Shelton said he likes the project, which is an addition to the ongoing Samoji beautification committee work involving students, parents and community members throughout the year.

“First, it’s an awesome use of space," he said. “Secondly, to see these trees and realize the students’ foresight to plant something now and their willingness to give up their time and put in the work — that’s inspiring.”

Photos courtesy of Santa Monica High School and the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District