School daze
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It has been with absolute incredulity that I’ve watched Highland School deforest what was previously a beautiful, park-like campus.
The trend toward what now appears to be a clear cutting began with a border of mature white pines along Oak Springs Drive. Today I noted that practically the entire buffer of mature trees and shrubs along U.S. 17 is gone, and the beautiful shade trees lining what has always been the main entrance are obviously to meet the same fate.
As a Highland parent for almost a decade, I am ashamed and outraged if any of my tuition monies funded this.
The shade trees along the entrance provided a cool canopy for parents’ cars for years and enabled many of us (who were so inclined) to turn off our engines while waiting in the pick-up line for our children.
The pines bordering Oak Springs Drive were a popular haven for both students and their parents during the annual Spring Field Day activities, when all were clamoring for shade between athletic events.
The border of trees and shrubs along U.S. 17 provided not only sound absorption for the campus, but also a natural filter for the pollutants spewed by passing trucks and cars.
In an era when the peril posed by greenhouse emissions and global warming have finally been acknowledged by even the most reluctant skeptics, how can Highland reconcile their recent “improvements” with what they teach in their Earth sciences classes?
What message is Highland sending to its students regarding balancing personal responsibility and financial gain?
We all share the responsibility for wise stewardship of our planet. As a school, I would expect Highland to set a much better example.
Joan Hellandsjo
Warrenton
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