Planting Trees and Nurturing Entrepreneurship: How Sinsheimer Elementary Students and ECOSLO Partnered to Support the Environment

On Arbor Day, students and ECOSLO worked together to plant three trees in Sinsheimer Park. This experience was meaningful for the students, as they were able to see the impact of their hard work and fundraising efforts.

Students in the Build-A-Business Club at Sinsheimer Elementary School in San Luis Obispo learned valuable life skills through a partnership with a local business. They worked with Downtown SLO business, Junk Girls, to create products to sell to raise money for a community project. Together, they were able to raise $1,500 to donate to ECOSLO, the San Luis Obispo Environmental Center.

Fifth grader Genevieve Palazzo expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to work with Junk Girls and ECOSLO, saying it was heartwarming to see their commitment to helping the environment and supporting students’ entrepreneurial aspirations. Another fifth grader, Sophia Bastidas, echoed Genevieve’s sentiments, noting the amazing collaboration between Junk Girls and ECOSLO and the positive impact their tree planting project will have on the community. According to ECOSLO’s program coordinator, Grant Helete, partnering with schools and organizations for projects like this is part of their “Keys to Trees” urban tree planning program, which aligns with San Luis Obispo’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2035 . In addition to teaching students valuable business skills