Class 30 "Green Team" cadets started out with the Keep Oklahoma Beautiful campaign and by joint efforts with local elementary schools organized an Arbor Day event in the spring of 2008.  The teachers taught students about Arbor Day and the importance of trees and flowers for our environment and why we need to Keep Oklahoma Beautiful.  To reinforce that learning, TYA cadets showed the students how to plant trees and flowers. 

Out of the 8 participating schools, 3 schools were able to give every student hands on experience planting a tree or flowers.  Those schools were Adair (Bernita Hughes Elementary School), Lincoln Elementary School, & Roosevelt Elementary School.

TYA applied for and was awarded a Keep Oklahoma Beautiful grant in the amount of $250 to support these activities.  An additional $150.00 in donations was raised by TYA to aid in purchasing trees and flowers, not to mention the individual schools that collected donations such as a truck load of soil donated by a student’s family, lumber to build flower beds, planters, etc. all of which helped to make our county-wide event a HUGE SUCCESS!

There were 2 memorials done while we were planting trees at 8 of the Elementary Schools in Mayes County.  The memorials were in honor of 2 teachers lost in an auto accident in Chouteau and a student at Adair. 

TYA plans on trying to make this annual event.  Go "Green Team"!