BV Cool Teens: Tending Trees & Talents

When Eli Nelson began interning as a member of Buena Vista’s high school Tree Team in 2024, he didn’t have high expectations. “I didn’t think I was gonna learn anything from it or gain anything,” he explained during a public Tree Team presentation earlier this month. But after that first year, Nelson said, he learned “how trees can provide so much for Buena Vista and for the people living here.” He came back for a second year, he explained, not just for the stipend, “but because I want to see this town growing for future generations and families to enjoy.”   

Nelson was one of the Tree Team’s original six members last year, and he wasn’t alone in deciding to return. In fact, all of the 2024 cohort applied to be part of this summer’s team, which expanded this year to 14 high schoolers. Like last year, the Buena Vista-based internship was led by Boxerwood educators Ginny Johnson and Catherine Epstein, and it was funded by the VA Department of Forestry/U.S. Forest Service with additional support from the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The 3-year award enables Boxerwood to work with the City of Buena Vista to increase its tree canopy by 250 native trees. Hiring high school interns is part of the project’s community and workforce development model, which strengthens civic engagement and youth service learning.

This year, the internship ran for 60 hours from June 23 to July 10. Interns undertook a range of projects, including upgrading the BV Community Tree Nursery based at Enderly Heights Elementary School. On a series of hot and humid days, the high schoolers worked together to restore weed-free beds that house more than 100 baby trees placed into pots by public school students this past spring. The team tended the trees and also raised a shade cloth that protects the nursery from oppressive heat. The work could be exhausting, but their combined efforts made a remarkable difference in a short period of time. “I stepped back and looked at it,” recalled intern James Miller, “and I was amazed by how much more beautiful it looked after just one day of work.” 

Along with these projects, the high schoolers also learned from professional tree experts, including SVU biology professor Dr. Sam Hirt, the U.S. Forest Service Team at the George Washington & Jefferson National Forests, certified arborist Tony Petryszyn, and Scott Reigel, head of Mountain Gateway Community College’s Forestry Program. These conversations exposed the high schoolers not only to the value of trees but to a range of environmentally-based careers. “The most important thing I learned,” reflected one intern in a final survey, “was that I enjoy nature (even though it was SO HOT) and I’m really thinking about having a job that involves [the outdoors]. It really helped me narrow down what I want to do.” 

Putting knowledge into action, the interns also created public education materials. After learning about proper tree care from Boxerwood garden steward Karen Stanley, the teens designed tree care pamphlets for Buena Vista households planting new trees. The pamphlets include advice on placement, watering, mulching, and planting depth. The interns also created materials for a publicity campaign about BV Cool Trees, designing a flier to distribute throughout downtown Buena Vista, a yard sign for participating households to place in front of their new trees, and even a social media account to reach a broader audience with tree planting updates, ecological facts, and volunteer opportunities. 

One highlight of the internship was completing an extensive tree inventory in downtown Buena Vista, as requested by the City’s recently appointed Tree Board. Using geolocation in customized mapping software, the teens assessed tree species and health across 16 square blocks, gathering data on 93 existing trees. They shared their findings to the Tree Board and members of the public during a well-attended presentation on July 9. 

The Team’s work certainly had measurable benefits for the community – but the students also described how the internship transformed their own lives and perspectives. “This internship has changed how I interact with trees,” said Kylin Pentecost. “When I was younger, I would always pluck leaves, dig up roots, and peel off bark. Now, I see trees for what they truly are: living things that are valuable to our environment. I treat them much better.” Yet in the end, as with all things Boxerwood, the program is about more than trees. As another intern put it, “I learned so many new things about trees and myself. I learned I am capable of many great things.”

For more information about BV Cool Trees and the Tree Team internship, visit BVCoolTrees.org.

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