North Gwinnett News

Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology (GSMST) and Lilburn Elementary School have been awarded Moon Trees through a grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service. GSMST will receive four seedlings, which are scheduled to be planted on school grounds during a ceremony on August 28, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. Lilburn Elementary received a Loblolly Pine Tree sapling that was planted on its campus in May.

In November 2022, NASA sent 2,000 seeds from five tree varieties into space aboard Artemis 1, an uncrewed test flight of the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS). These "Moon Tree seeds" spent 25 days in space before returning to Earth for germination. NASA officials hope these seedlings will foster new connections between communities on Earth and humanity’s space exploration efforts.

Rebecca Beckman, a Computer Science Teacher at Lilburn Elementary who applied for the Moon Trees on behalf of her school, expressed enthusiasm about the project: “We are thrilled and excited to care for this sapling and watch it grow as our legacy project for generations to come.”

Georgia is home to three Moon Trees—two located at universities and one owned by the federal government. Dr. Courtney Cox, a science teacher at GSMST who pursued acquiring these trees, aims to inspire students and the community with this initiative. GSMST's four trees will represent the largest collection of Moon Trees in any single location within the U.S., uniquely designated for high school-level scientific research. Dr. Cox's grant proposal emphasizes potential groundbreaking research opportunities using these trees to explore space travel's impact on plant life.

Logan Malm, principal of GSMST, expressed gratitude: “We are incredibly grateful to Dr. Cox for her dedication in securing this grant and to NASA for this extraordinary opportunity,” he said. “The Moon Trees will be a constant reminder of humanity’s achievements in space exploration and inspire our students to become the next generation of scientists and astronauts.”