Trees Have Their Own Voice At Westfield Friends School In Cinnaminson

CINNAMINSON, NJ — You’ve heard of tree-huggers, but have you ever actually spoken to a tree? This is now possible at Westfield Friends School in Cinnaminson.

Making use of a grant she received from the Friends Council on Education, Westfield Friends School third-grade teacher Patricia Lyons, of Moorestown, took students in third through sixth grades on a tree walk that helped them ponder the questions: What would happen if trees could talk? What might they say?

The students tagged the trees with horticultural tree tags that included a QR code. Using that code, visitors can listen to a student as she or he speaks as the voice of their adoptive tree. For example, 8-year old, Sebastian Hoz de Villa, of Moorestown, assumed the identity of a Sour Gum Tree.

During their walk, the students undertook the work of adopting, researching, conducting STEAM challenges, and tagging numerous tree species on the school campus, located on 8 ½ acres along Riverton Road in Cinnaminson. The campus includes the Westfield Friends cemetery.

Using queries from Quaker SPICES as underpinnings, Westfield’s “Science Buddy” teams learned about the community of trees on the school grounds and “adopted” specific trees for the purpose of investigating each tree’s origin, traits, and needs.

With the guidance of teachers, Westfield Meeting members, field guides, and iPad apps to help identify more than 60 tree species, students also designed their own.

Then, they tagged the trees. Now, visitors can listen and learn about the 60+ additional trees featured on the walk by visiting Westfield Friends School.

The Tree Walk is open to the public. The school encourages visitors to stop by after school hours (after 3:30 p.m.), or on weekends or during the summer months when students are not on campus.

The school is located at 2201 Riverton Road in Cinnaminson, New Jersey. Additionally, a Westfield Tree Walk brochure can be downloaded at http://westfieldfriends.org/about-us/tree-walk/.

The Friends Council on Education funds creative, student-centered projects that focus on the Quaker testimonies in Friends schools.

About Westfield Friends School

Westfield Friends School has been teaching about equality, peace, and stewardship of the environment since it opened its doors in 1788. It is a co-ed, Quaker Day School serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.

As a Friends school, each child is nurtured and valued as an important part of the community. Education of the whole child includes a strong academic program, vibrant classes in music, visual arts, languages, and computers and the ability to recognize and cherish the Light in each person.

Students are well prepared both academically and socially for rigorous high schools in the region and develop a lifelong love of learning and a concern and care for their classmates and the wider world in which they live.

The attached images were provided by the school:

Photo # 1: Third grade student Sebastian Hoz de Vila, of Moorestown, studies trees on the Westfield Friends School campus.

Photo #2: Westfield Friends School’s Tree Walk – Sour Gum Tree Tag with QR Code

Photo #3: Ribbon Cutting Ceremony- Patricia Lyons with students (from left: Rosie Myers, Esha Acharya, Yunus Awan and Kayla Reed)