Third-graders plant trees on forest field trip
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, April 8, 2026
PORT ANGELES — Third-grade green thumbs traveled to Blue Mountain Road to plant trees as part of an ongoing educational field trip.
Bryan Huber, forest operations manager for Merrill & Ring, said this was the 42nd year of the event, which brought North Olympic Peninsula students to state trust land to plant trees and learn about the environment and economy. In recent years, it’s continued with Sequim School District third-graders.
Eight Helen Haller Elementary classrooms participated in the event on March 25.
“It means everything to me, sharing the benefits of working forests and renewable forest products with students as well as with parents and teachers,” Huber said.
The tradition started as a partnership between Merrill & Ring, a sustainable forest management company, and the state Department of Natural Resources, he said.
Reed Wendel, chairman of the North Olympic Chapter of the Society of American Foresters, applied for and received a grant to pay for bussing to and from the property.
Huber said several volunteers from the western Washington timber forestry industry participated in the field trip, such as staff with Merrill & Ring, Angeles Forestry, Campbell Global and current and retired DNR staff.
The land students visited is managed by DNR, which donated trees and the use of shovels for the project. Timber revenues from the property are on school trust land and support school construction across Washington.
State trust lands’ timber revenues also support other projects, such as the Sequim Library’s new building.
Huber said 75 cents of each dollar goes to those institutions, while the other 25 cents supports DNR’s management operations.
He said students will hopefully come back over the years and see the trees that they planted.
