Environmental Education in Action

Just as we wrap up phase two of our Native Tree Nursery Project--planting tree seeds with every single student at FSW--two new opportunities for environmental education and action have emerged right here in the greater Wilmington area! First, an ongoing petition to #SaveSledgeForest in Castle Hayne, and second, an invitation to a ceremonial planting of 400 Hooheh (Longleaf Pine) seedlings at the Waccamaw Siouan Tribal Grounds. Here’s how you can get involved:

#SaveSledgeForest: Sledge Forest—one of the last big stretches of old-growth forest in our county—is at a crossroads. Home to centuries-old trees, wetlands, and diverse wildlife, it’s now the site of a proposed large-scale housing development. For our students, environmental education isn’t just in textbooks—it’s unfolding in real time. This is a great opportunity to bring those lessons home. Ask your child how wetlands help prevent flooding, what happens when habitats disappear, or how communities make decisions about land use. These conversations help kids connect what they’re learning to what’s happening right in their own backyard. Visit the Save Sledge Forest website to learn more and explore ways to get involved.

Hooheh Cultural Burn & Reforestation Program: In Bolton, NC, the Waccamaw Siouan Tribe is leading an effort to restore over 20 acres of tribal land by planting longleaf pine seedlings. Once the dominant tree of the Southeast, longleaf pine forests were nearly wiped out by deforestation and development, taking with them critical ecosystems and the traditional land practices that sustained them. This month, the Hooheh Cultural Burn & Reforestation Program will plant 400 seedlings at the Waccamaw Siouan Tribal Grounds, blending environmental restoration with Indigenous land stewardship. For our students, this is a powerful example of how tree planting is more than conservation—it’s about Indigenous land rights, cultural survival, and ecological resilience. To volunteer at their upcoming planting ceremony, sign up here.