Photograph of several students, mostly dressed in yellow workshirts and wearing hard hats, gathered around a Forest Service vehicle parked in front of a grassy hillside.

Students at the Oak Flat Restoration and Planting Project.

Photograph of 2 students wearing yellow workshirts and hard hats kneel on the ground to plant tree seedlings in soil.

Students planting trees at the site of 2006 Day Fire.

Operation Green Jeans in Partnership with the Pacific Crest Trail Association

  • Kevin Sarkissian, Career Visions Center Supervisor, William S. Hart Union High School District, Santa Clarita CA

Students enrolled in the School District's Regional Occupational Program (ROP) course titled, “Basics in Forestry and Trail Construction,” recently participated in a unique service learning opportunity coordinated by the US Forest Service. The Oak Flat Restoration and Planting Project, funded by the US Department of Agriculture, comes in direct response to resource and habitat decimation caused locally by the Day Fire of 2006, the second largest wildfire in California history.

“Students enrolled in ROP Forestry are taught principles of environmental stewardship while volunteering more than 100 hours of local service in the areas of wilderness resource management and conservation,” commented Kevin Sarkissian, Lead Instructor and Crew Boss from the District.

With thousands of trees planted by day's end, Hart students, with the help of other volunteer groups and Forest Service personnel, shared the benefits of a battle hard fought: tired smiles, grimy uniforms, and a quiet bus ride home.