SOUTH DEERFIELD — In a partnership between schools and town government, students of the Frontier Regional and Franklin County Technical schools got their hands dirty Thursday morning through a small community service opportunity.

On the grassy lawn next to Frontier’s parking lot and Pleasant Street, a handful of students and staff spent the morning planting trees through an outreach program put together by the Deerfield Energy Committee.

The red maple, dogwood and sugar maple trees planted Thursday join three other trees on the same lawn, as well as more than 20 other trees that were planted around town throughout 2023, according to Energy Resources Committee member Greg Franceschi.

“We had a stipend from the town we didn’t use … and we thought this would be a good way to use it,” said Deerfield Energy Resources Committee Chair David Gilbert-Keith.

While Gilbert-Keith said this isn’t a typical project the Energy Resources Committee would pursue, it sends a message about the need to become more environmentally friendly, which can hopefully “stimulate other parts of the community to jump in.”

“We who are so concerned about climate change often sound so doom and gloom, so it’s nice to have a project that shows, A) you can do something, and B) shows we really are committed to there being a future,” he said. “This is a very hopeful thing to do.”

The trees are grown by Franklin Tech’s horticulture program — which cares for more than 250 trees — and are then sold to local towns, businesses and nonprofits, according to horticulture instructor Kurt Richardson.

Gilbert-Keith thanked Franklin Tech for doing all the “nitty-gritty” work and the school community for supporting the project.

Doing the planting work on Thursday was a group of Franklin Tech students, as well as Frontier middle and high schoolers, who volunteered an hour of their time after they were dismissed from their half day of school.

“I like that there’s something here, so I might as well contribute,” said Frontier junior Owen Babb, referring to the three trees that were planted on the lawn by students in 2021. “I think it’ll be cool a few years down the line to see our work.”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.