BOUNDARY COUNTY — As trees grow older and fall, new ones take their place in a natural cycle of life. Mount Hall Elementary School students participated in that cycle Monday morning by planting trees in honor of the memory of Ken Irons. 

Each student became a junior forester, planting one tree each. Next to each newly planted tree, a bamboo stake with the student’s name was placed as the sound of talking, laughter and learning filled the forest. 

Ken Homik, an Idaho Department of Lands private forestry supervisor, gave a presentation in the school gym before each grade went into the forest with an adult to plant trees. 

Kari Dameron, a kindergarten teacher at Mount Hall, said the tree-planting event held Tuesday, April 21 will have a lasting impact on students. 

“This has been such a cool connection for them,” Dameron said. “They enjoy coming out here, but now they’re going to have some ownership and accountability. In the future, as we build the trail, the kids will be hands-on and very involved.” 

Dameron said she contacted the state agency seven years ago about using the outdoor property next to the school. 

“Ken Homik and his fire crew came out,” Dameron said. “We flagged a trail and, although you can’t see it now because it’s been logged over it will be rebuilt. We also identified a spot for an outdoor classroom and as they were cutting, they made benches for us, kind of like a natural amphitheater. When teachers have opportunities, we bring the kids out here for different activities.” 

Roughly two years ago, the school received grant money to build the story trail in the woods. The story trail is a walk where kiosks containing parts of books are situated along the trail. 

“As they're walking, the path starts over by the school and then students read the story as they go along,” Dameron said. 

Mount Hall, Boundary County School District’s northernmost school, has about seven acres of available forest land, according to Homik. 

“We live here and not all learning should take place in a classroom,” Dameron said. “We’re very lucky to have this area. I’m hoping it’s not just for Mount Hall, but for the entire school district and all of our kids in Boundary County. There are endless opportunities.” 

Homik said trees in the area were dying and falling, creating safety concerns and requiring removal of many of them. 

“There were a number of forest health issues, including root disease and overcrowding,” Homik said. “We worked with the school to develop a plan for how best to manage it.” 

Mike Smith, the BCSD maintenance director, said many dead trees were removed over spring break. 

“It was a full truckload and a quarter of dead trees that were out here,” Smith said. 

The trees planted will be better suited to the environment. 

“We’re planting white pine, ponderosa pine and western larch because they’re more resistant to that type of root disease,” Homik said. 

Homik said there is additional land available for future planting projects, giving students more opportunities in the coming years. 

“We’re looking to do a project to come out here every year, monitor growth and see how the trees are doing,” Homik said. “We’ll keep planting trees out here until it doesn’t make sense anymore.” 

The event honored Ken Irons, who passed away in November, after living in Boundary County for 80 of his 91 years. His children, Don Irons and Cyndi Clark, attended the tree planting and watched as students planted trees that will grow for generations.

“Dad had asked that instead of flowers at his funeral, something else be done, but we never knew what he wanted,” Clark said. “We put our heads together with a good friend, Dave Wattenbarger and we said, ‘Oh, let's do this.’ The education of the younger generation to understand that a tree is a renewable resource and how important they are is huge.” 

Trees held a special place in Ken Irons’ life. 

“For most of his life, he liked to be with trees,” Don Irons said.   

“The day before he had a stroke that ultimately took his life, he was very active and the last thing he did was walk through the woods with his dog,” Clark said. “He had about 500 acres and could tell you what was new, what the deer had done and what the elk had done.”

Irons served on the Boundary Soil Conservation District, which will honor his memory by giving away free tree seedlings Friday, April 24 as part of Arbor Day. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Super 1 Foods parking lot. 

After his passing, Branches of Hope: The Ken Irons Memorial Tree Fund was established to support Arbor Day projects in his memory. 

The project received support from the Idaho Department of Lands, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, the Ryan Peachey family, Matt Quillin, Andy Eckhart, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and High Country Forestry. Dameron said she was grateful and blessed at the groups that came to help the school. 

With dead trees taken out and new trees planted, the life cycle will start again anew. 

“I can speak on behalf of the Boundary County School District that we’re excited for all the future learning to take place,” Dameron said.   

    A volunteer digs into the ground to help a student put their tree into the earth.
  

    Adults took one or two Mount Hall students at a time to plant trees with their names on bamboo sticks next to them.