Burrell student’s independent study brings trees, gardens to high school

Burrell senior Dylan Selinger and her independent study project have greened up the Burrell High School campus.

Selinger, 18, of Lower Burrell has been busy this school year with an independent internship in sustainability and organic agriculture.

Her efforts have yielded tangible results, including landing a $1,000 PPG grant for flower and vegetable gardens, planting trees on campus, helping to establish a student garden club and more.

Selinger worked with the national nonprofit Tree-Plenish to plant 78 trees May 16 to offset the paper used by the high school.

Tree-plenish’s mission is to create more sustainable schools by replenishing the environment with resources lost such as trees to make paper.

She and other students planted black walnut, paper birch, common apple and red maple trees.

“This is something we did to give back to the environment and raise awareness,” Selinger said. “It’s important to be mindful of the effect we have on the environment and to try to do things with as little waste as possible.”

The efforts fall under an independent study internship that some students can pick up in their senior year, according to Sandra Oskin, Burrell High School counselor.

“It’s neat for them to experiment on what they want to do,” Oskin said. “Dylan was just trying some new things.”

Selinger trained her sights on the vacant small greenhouse and raised gardens in the high school’s courtyard.

Now, the greenhouse is alive with plantings of wildflower mix, zinnia, poppy, snap pea, sunflowers and more.

Last year’s vegetable crops of tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers were cooked by the school cafeteria and given to district staff.

“I feel like she brought that space alive,” Oskin said. “She had kids involved talking about planting and gardening — things these kids may have not been thinking about doing.”

Resurrecting the greenhouse in the high school courtyard and adding more beds seemed like a natural for Selinger.

“The courtyard looked so drab, and the area is enclosed so the deer don’t get in,” she said. In other words: It was a near-perfect gardening opportunity.

The independent study further inspired Selinger to pursue an environmental career in regenerative agriculture.

“Burrell’s independent study program was a good gateway for that,” she said.

“I had an idea, I was passionate about it and I learned how to start these projects. It’s been about the process and not the end product.”