Our Stories of Student-Grown Native Trees
Follow the students, discoveries and experiences shaping the Legacy Tree Project, from the first seeds planted to the restoration work ahead.
Featured story
Following a Drop of Water: Our Day at OdySea Aquarium
Fifty sixth-grade students from Florence Unified School District's Circle Cross Ranch Elementary had the opportunity to spend the day exploring OdySea Aquarium through Natural Restorations' Legacy Tree Project. The stude…
Circle Cross Ranch STEM - Brings The Legacy Tree Project to its community!
From Seeds in 2025 to Restoration in 2026 In March 2025, students planted native ironwood seeds at Circle Cross Ranch Elementary. Over the following months, they cared for the grow…
Share your story
Your Story Helps Us Grow
Were you part of a Legacy Tree Project planting or growing day? We would love to hear from students, families, teachers and partners. Share a favorite moment, something you learned or an idea to help us improve.
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Student Impact
Connection, confidence, environmental knowledge, responsibility, stewardship, leadership and engagement.
School Impact
Curriculum, teacher training, growing infrastructure, green spaces and stronger community relationships.
Environmental Impact
Locally appropriate trees grown for restoration and community needs.
Community Impact
Students, families, schools, businesses and organizations doing something meaningful together.
A landscape worth restoring.
The burn scar where student-grown trees are headed shows what the 2020 Bush Fire left behind, and what active restoration can bring back.
Why restoration matters here. Saguaros, ironwoods and other native species can take decades or centuries to recover from fire damage on their own. Invasive weeds and shrubs can move in after a burn, increasing the risk of future fires. Without active restoration, the burn scar could struggle to recover its native plant communities.
See the burn scar for yourself
Natural Restorations’ page includes before-and-after photographs of the burn scar and the replanting work. We encourage you to explore them there.
Explore the Bush Fire Restoration StoryBe Part of the Story.
Students, families, schools and community partners all play a part in the Legacy Tree Project. Explore how you can get involved.
Explore Ways to ParticipateHelp Tell a Student-Grown Story.
Students at Arizona schools are growing native ironwood trees from seed and preparing to plant them in the Tonto National Forest. If you create conservation content, teach about native landscapes or cover restoration work, we would be glad to share what we have and hear what you would want to know.
- Growing and planting records from real school cycles.
- Photography and stories already cleared for public use.
- A direct line to the people doing the work.
Reaching out does not commit you or the program to anything. We will simply talk through what would be useful.
Sponsors a native tree.
Sponsors 25 trees for one class.
Sponsors one school growing cycle.
Any amount is welcome, donate what works for you.
Shared with permission.