Peck Elementary School students plant five live oak trees in front of their school on Friday.

With shovels in hand and smiles on their faces, fifth-graders at Peck Elementary School planted 13 trees donated by Trees for Houston at their school on Friday, including five live oaks and eight elm trees.

In October, HISD announced a partnership with Trees for Houston to plant trees at 27 campuses as part of the Trees for Schools program. Like Peck Elementary, 22 of those schools are part of the district’s $805 million 2007 bond project that included more than 180 construction and renovation projects across the district.

“Our mission is to plant, protect, and promote trees in Houston,” Trees for Houston Marketing & Volunteer Director Jessica Keener said. “(This partnership) helps our mission and helps the school, so we’re happy to be involved.”

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In addition to planting trees, Trees for Houston gave a presentation to teach the students about tree biology and their life cycle. As with all Trees for Houston plantings, the organization will monitor new trees at HISD schools for two years to ensure their long-term survival.

Peck Elementary science teacher LaKeisha Ogbor said her students were getting hands-on experience that complemented their lessons in the classroom.

“They talked about how the trees are beneficial to the school, not just for beautification but exchange of air between plants and animals,” Ogbor said.

In nearly 30 years, Trees for Houston has planted more than 430,000 trees in the Houston community. The nonprofit is dedicated to planting, protecting, and promoting trees. The Trees for Schools program was developed to provide and plant much-needed trees on Houston-area school campuses.

The joint effort is part of HISD’s ongoing commitment to promote green schools and eco-friendly academic environments. That effort will continue with HISD’s 2012 bond program that will rebuild or replace 40 schools across the city.

Principal Carlotta Brown thanked Trees for Houston for donating their time and service to beautify the campus.

“We’re thankful for Trees of Houston for coming out to help give their time and service to beautify our campus even more than it has been because of our new structure and facility,” Brown said. “This will teach the children to take care of the Earth, the plants, and their surroundings and give back to the community.”