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- Sprucewood Elementary School in Sandy planted a NASA Artemis I Moon Tree on Tuesday.
- The tree grew from a seed aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft in November 2022.
- The school was selected from 1,300 applicants to become a moon tree steward.
SANDY — Smokey Bear joined students and staff at Sprucewood Elementary School on Tuesday to help plant a unique Artemis I Moon Tree, granted to them by NASA.
The school's new Douglas fir seedling is dubbed a "moon tree" because it was grown from a seed carried aboard NASA's Orion spacecraft when it circumnavigated the moon in November 2022, traveling over 270,000 miles in its journey from Earth and back.
The seeds for five tree species were aboard the unmanned spacecraft for the Artemis I mission. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service grew the seedlings before distributing them to approved tree stewards.
School librarian Sara Lee first learned about moon tree stewardship after reading "Moon Tree: The Story of One Extraordinary Tree" by Carolyn Bennett Fraiser. Lee explained that Frasier contacted her to let her know about the book in August 2022 because a moon tree was located near the school in Draper. She then found out NASA was introducing a new generation of moon trees as part of its national STEM engagement and conservation education initiative, so she applied for her school to be considered.
After waiting two years to hear back about the application, Lee was surprised to find out the school had been selected to be a steward out of more than 1,300 applications.
"I was blown away when I got the first email saying that we had tentatively been chosen," Lee said. "Then, when we got back (from spring break), there was an email that said, 'Congratulations, moon tree steward, show us your celebrations.' ... We got our welcome packets and then the tree came the next day."
The school dedicated its moon tree at a celebration on Tuesday, joined by the U.S. Forest Service. Six students acknowledged for demonstrating leadership by following school rules helped Lee, Smokey Bear and teacher-of-the-year recipient Emigh Lo plant the seedling in a patch of grass near the playground.
"I think (the moon tree) is really cool because it traveled around the world and space. I think it's cool we had someone special to share it with," said Matthew, a fourth-grade student at the school, referring to Smokey.
Unknown to students, however, was that Smokey Bear was being portrayed by Lee's husband, who is a cartographer for the Forest Service and helped coordinate the special appearance.
"We had great support from our local Forest Service office and my administration was awesome. They treated this as the big deal that I was hoping it would be," said Lee.
Students officially welcomed the tree to their campus by participating in their school's "happy chant" before ending the celebration. Principal Cathleen Schino also reminded students to take care of the tree, especially while it is still a seedling. The tree will be surrounded by a barrier to protect it from stray balls and toys from the playground and is accompanied by a plaque that explains its status as a moon tree.
"NASA and the Forest Service have trusted us to take care of this tree, to be the keepers of the tree, to care for it, and to keep it safe and healthy," said Schino, addressing students. "So we're going to make sure that we take care of it by admiring it with our eyes instead of our hands. Every time you go by it, we know that plants, they grow with love. We've been practicing giving compliments all year and using emotional safety, so please talk to our moon tree. Give it positive comments. It really is a thing. It will grow."
NASA began the new generation of moon tree stewardship as a nod to the historic Apollo 14 mission, where Stuart Roosa, astronaut and former smokejumper for the U.S. Forest Service, carried hundreds of seeds to space to see if they would still grow after being in a zero-gravity environment. According to Lee, the canister of seeds broke in space, but they were able to save 420 seeds that would later be planted at national monuments in celebration of the U.S. bicentennial.
Four of those trees were initially sent to Utah in the 1970s, but only two are still accounted for. One is a Douglas fir that was planted at the state Capitol but was cut down after being destroyed by a tornado in 1999. The other is a sycamore tree planted at the Lone Peak Conservation Center in Draper that is still standing, but is infected with a fungal disease.
Draper's almost 50-year-old moon tree is now joined by two of the new generation's seedlings — one at Sprucewood Elementary and another at Glacier Hills Elementary, both part of the Canyons School District.
"I feel like it's special," said Lee. "Not everybody has a tree grown from a seed that traveled 270,000 miles from space. So I wanted something special, something that even when (students are) older, they'll remember that this happened and it's accessible here. They can bring their parents and, ideally, my kids who helped plant it, (can bring their) kids back some day and show them."
Lee explained that the area where the tree was planted is also special because it was previously home to another tree planted in memory of a student who died. The tree was later cut down, but now Lee hopes the area will continue to be visited by students and remembered for generations to come.
