Changes are coming to your school courtyard in the coming days as two of the trees adorning our courtyard have been marked for removal. Both of the trees are Siberian Elms, which are local to the area. According to research conducted by Northern State University in South Dakota, the tree typically lives to be 50 or 60 years old, particularly in high traffic or high stress environments, but can live to be 150 in ideal conditions. This timeline matches well with the early 1970’s construction and initial landscaping of Coronado, however it is possible that the landscaping which took place last year may have contributed to the trees’ short lives.

Other than the removal of the trees, changes to Coronado landscaping occur every day with normal traffic. Frequently students pass through planters on their way to class which at one point held beautiful and big shrubbery, but now contain little more than trampled remains of what once was. Particularly in the beginning of the year before the newer residents of Coronado figure out traffic flow, things can get frustrating, leading to walking through the planters and otherwise straying off of the concrete paths. Beyond the killing of shrubbery, these shortcuts make our school hallways and classrooms disgusting with tracked in mud and debris, particularly when rain or snow inevitably fall onto our campus, so do your part and stay on the path, for everyone’s sake.

Students should also do their part in making sure that campus stays clean by avoiding littering, a problem which has already run rampant this year. Garbage left from snacks, lunch, and passing periods can really accumulate and lead to everyone’s day being less enjoyable. Remember Coronado, this is all our home for eight hours or more a day, let’s take care of it. The problem can be stifled at the source with just a little mindfulness and spacial awareness, but students wishing to do more to help our community can do so by joining a club such as NHS, Student Council or Mock Trial among many others who have designated days for “Campus Clean Ups” where members spend just a few minutes of their day once or twice a semester taking care of the campus.

Coronado is blessed to have one of the best looking campuses in D11, let’s work together to make small changes to keep it that way.