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From the lunar orbit to Plano, moon tree puts down roots
By Kim Nguyen, knguyen@acnpapers.com
In a special ceremony Wednesday morning, the Plano Senior High School LASER Club and environmental club celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Apollo Program with a moon tree planting ceremony.
Apollo 14 launched on Jan. 31, 1971, and was the third trip to the lunar surface. Five days later Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell walked on the moon while Stuart Roosa, a former U.S. Forest Service smoke jumper, orbited above in the command module. Packed in small containers in Roosa’s personal kit were hundreds of tree seeds for a NASA/USFA joint project. Known as the “Moon Trees,” the resulting seedlings were planted throughout the United States and the world and stand as a tribute to astronaut Roosa and the Apollo program.
Hundreds of moon trees have been planted around the world, but the sycamore seedling at Plano Senior High is the first moon tree to be planted in North Texas.
“As one of the few high schools in the nation to have a moon tree, the tree stands as a constant reminder to our students of the importance of pursuing careers in science, research and engineering,” said Karen Shepherd, Learning About Science and Engineering Research (LASER) club sponsor. “It’s put in a prominent place for all the students to walk by and see the plaque and be reminded.”
The 1960s and 70s were a tumultuous time, as the race into space heyday was at its prime. The United States ultimately lost the race after the Russians launched Sputnik 1, but the newly-formed National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) did not call it quits.
“As a science teacher, it’s neat to see how much of today’s technologies started out at NASA as NASA or military research endeavors,” Shepherd said. “I hope the students think about that and continue their own quests for knowledge. The space race may have been 40 years ago, but the students can still understand having the drive to keep learning.”
Wednesday’s moon tree planting ceremony was the culmination of several weeks’ worth of work done by Plano Senior High’s environmental and LASER clubs.
The two groups of students played a leading role in bringing the moon tree to Plano Senior High.
With the help of the city’s urban forester, the clubs surveyed the school’s property to choose the placement of the tree, designed the plaque’s inscription and sold commemorative T-shirts for the rest of the student body to wear for the ceremony. The two clubs will alternate responsibilities for maintaining the tree and any future landscaping around the tree.
The sycamore seedling is a second-generation moon tree that the school acquired with help from Nancy Erickson, a Plano counselor and the sister of Kristen Erickson, NASA spokeswoman who officiated the ceremony.
“Through Nancy, Kristen knew of Plano Senior High and thought that we would be a good high school to plant a moon tree because we are so rich in tradition,” Shephard said.
For information about NASA’s Apollo celebration activities, please visit www.nasa.gov/apollo40th
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