The Picture Story of T.R.E.E.
After Katrina and Rita

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita dealt T.R.E.E. a blow at its office on Magazine Street. Even though there was no floodwater from the levee breaks, the chimney on the building roof caved in, sending water through the second story and through our ceiling, into the props and materials (as well as important office documents) we use for programs. Many had to be remade or replaced.

T.R.E.E.'s Outdoor Classroom site sustained the most damage. The classroom/theater building we call E.M.'s Lab took hits from three falling trees.

The area in front of E.M.'s Lab, where the children enter, became impassable from the downed trees. There was not even a trace of the entry path.

Giant trees with eight foot girths and some 80 feet tall snapped and were uprooted throughout the entire forest leaving no way for anyone to make their way through. Over 300 of 1000 trees were damaged. This was our Outdoor Classroom -- where the learning occurred.

The area between the dining hall and bunkhouse became strewn with giant trees, one lying down, thankfully, parallel and 10 feet away from the bunkhouse.

During Earthkeepers, we have made the best of the damage -- using the fallen tree as "desks" in our Outdoor Classroom!

The logs cut from fallen trees as trails were again cleared are also used as "desks" for Earthkeepers.

Whole tree trunks become a stage for "wind dancer" performances.

The science of "munch lines" (food chains) is taught through innovative hands-on, immersion techniques.

Teachers, staff, and accompanying adults get a chance to interact with small groups of students for excellent education.

Students have the opportunity to view the science they are learning up close and in small groups.

Students understand the concept of the "web of life" by actually being connected to their needs of life through cords -- an amazing visual educational hit.

By unearthing buried Time Capsules, students discover examples of the earth's past time periods.

Fallen trees become stops on an exploration of the natural surroundings.

Students use the materials (both living and dead) around them to fill a Touch Box.

Even the upended roots of a fallen tree provide a place to explore.

The peacefulness of the natural surroundings in its growth and change, provides for time to reflect and process.

After much work clearing the trails and repairing E.M.'s Lab, students are able to pose where destruction had occurred and relish in all their learning.