You're on track to get doubled donations (and unlock a reward for the colleague who referred you). Keep up the great work!
Take credit for your charitable giving! Check out your tax receipts
Donate
To use your $50 gift card credits, find a project to fund and we'll automatically apply your credits at checkout. Find a classroom project
Skip to main content

Help teachers & students in your hometown this season!
Use code HOME at checkout and your donation will be matched up to $100.

Your school email address was successfully verified.

This teacher needs your help!

Mrs. Rusert from Mena, AR is requesting supplies through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Mrs. Rusert is requesting

Great Oaks from Little Acorns Grow

My students need binoculars, field guides, The Forest In A Box, Carbon Cycle, and Pine Life Cycle set to understand the need to stay "green" on our campus.

  • $857 goal

This project expired on July 29, 2009.

This project expired on July 29, 2009.

Classroom photo
Mrs. Rusert Acorn High School
Mena, AR Grades 6-8

Our school is a rural school with 73% of the students receiving free or reduced lunches. The Mighty Oaks from Little Acorns Grow project will help students learn to be good caretakers of our world and will help prepare them for real-life learning. It will prepare them for the higher level classes necessary for them to be successful in college by giving them the foundation upon which to build.

Close your eyes and imagine sitting on the forest floor with a field guide and pair of binoculars. What would you see and hear? Being in nature provides the motivation for real learning while developing character and real-life learning about the natural world.

The materials in this request will make this happen for my students. These resources will give them the tools to identify plants and animals in a forest ecosystem and help them learn ways to become good stewards of our planet. These basic skills will further lead to advanced learning situations in high school and college. "Great Oaks From Little Acorns Grow" project will give student access and opportunity to become the great oaks for our future. After completing lessons about the diversity of life found in the forest ecosystem, they will use the binoculars and field guides in the 15-acre outdoor classroom to locate and identify birds and other wildlife, as well as trees, shrubs and other plants found there. The Forest In A Box, Carbon Cycle, Pine Life Cycle set, and the deciduous forest set will give students opportunities to understand the need to stay "green" on our campus. Our school's Outdoor Classroom, located on the school campus, is approximately 15 forested acres and consists of mostly hardwood species. Natural walking trails have been established throughout the area and are used by students in Preschool through grade 12 and the general public. Many senior citizens frequent the trails. The area joins with the American Legion property. We would like to enhance the area in the following ways: 1.Middle and High School science students will use dichotomous keys to identify native trees and shrubs. The field guides requested will give students relevant hands-on learning opportunities to identify animals and plants in the region. 2. Middle School students will learn about recycling when they compost organic materials from the Outdoor Classroom and the school cafeteria. Vermiculture will provide opportunities for students to learn about worm composting, worm life cycles, soil ecology and organic fanning. Soil created from composting will be used by Kindergarten and first grade students when they plant seeds for the vegetable garden. 3.A part of the Outdoor Classroom includes a 60 x 100 garden spot. Students in grades 9-12 enrolled in Plant Science will till the ground, remove weeds and rocks and prepare the area for planting. The garden will be divided into four areas: vegetable, herb, flower and production crops. Students in grades K-12 will plant seeds and plants for harvesting or replanting for landscaping around the gazebo. 4.Grades 7-12 resource room students will build bat boxes, bird houses, and bird feeders for the Outdoor Classroom. Using digital cameras (already have these), students will create their own Bird Books by taking photos of birds seen in the Outdoor Classroom. They will research the birds habits and migration patterns and include this information in the books. 5.Wildlife technicians from the Arkansas Forestry Commission and the U.S. Forest Service have evaluated the needs of the 15 acres included in the Outdoor Classroom. Their recommendations include control burning to enhance quality of timber and improve habitats for various animals living in the area. This would support the Arkansas Frameworks relating to ecological succession. We would like to divide the area into four sections. Each year we would use a "cool burn" (fire would get no higher than knee level) for one area. The next year students could see the benefits of the burn in that area and would burn another section. The following year they could see what happens after 1 year and 2 years by comparing the areas. The same would be done for the third area. One section will remain untouched and would be the control area for the experiment. Students would be responsible for raking the debris from the trails to create the boundaries for the burns.

Your help by funding this project will encourage and motivate these young people to grow and achieve their goals. Please help with this project.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

More than half of students from low‑income households

80 students impacted
Mrs. Rusert Acorn High School Grades 6-8

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

Mena, AR View local requests

More than half of students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

80 students impacted

Boost your odds

Add a profile photo in addition to your classroom photo. If you add a photo, it'll show up right here on your project page.

You are more likely to receive funding if you put a face to your name.

Upload a photo

Top rated for efficiency and transparency.

You donate directly to the teacher or project you care about and see where every dollar you give goes.

Expand the "Where your donation goes" section below to see exactly what Mrs. Rusert is requesting.

See our finances

TEACHERS, FEELING INSPIRED?

You can start a project with the same resources being requested here!

Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
AUDUBON SOCIETY FLD GDE SET • Carolina Biological Supply Company $303.53 1 $303.53
BINOCULARS, 10 X 50 • Carolina Biological Supply Company $53.20 1 $53.20
FOREST IN A BOX • Carolina Biological Supply Company $34.68 1 $34.68
CARBON CYCLE • Carolina Biological Supply Company $38.90 1 $38.90
BIOME SET - TEMP.DECID. FOREST • Sargent-Welch $88.20 1 $88.20
PINE LIFE CYCLE SET/25 • Carolina Biological Supply Company $59.80 1 $59.80

Materials cost

$578.31

Vendor shipping charges

 $57.83

Sales tax

 $34.70

3rd party payment processing fee

$14.46

Fulfillment labor & materials

$17.00

Total project cost

$702.30

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$154.16

Total project goal

$856.46

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

View complete list Show less

Project Activity

Project Activity
Back to top

DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Rusert and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

See how DonorsChoose works
{"pmaHash":"","showProjectRecommendations":true,"leadGenEnabled":false,"hideTeacherDetails":false,"schoolState":"AR","teacherPossessivePronoun":"her","PMsManager":null,"schoolGradeType":{"id":3,"name":"Middle School"},"TeacherPMForms":{},"completingDonationAmount":857,"teacherHasClassroomPhoto":true,"proposalURL":"https://www.donorschoose.org/project/-/257960/","mayHaveReplacements":false,"numStudents":80,"isEquityFocusV1":false,"teacherScreenName":"Mrs. Rusert","isEquityFocus":true,"proposalHash":"1702812414","isApplePayMobileOnly":true,"progressBarPercentage":0.00,"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"photosPublished":false,"queryString":"","DonorPMForm":null,"shouldTrackEquityFocusV2":true,"schoolCity":"Mena","teachersOnPage":[223009],"isTeacherViewingTheirOwnProject":false,"minimizedLeadGenEnabled":false,"proposalId":257960,"proposalMessageFormModel":null,"numActiveProjects":0,"verifyShowPhotos":"","eligibleToBeCopied":false,"schoolId":54246,"schoolName":"Acorn High School","authorIds":{"223009":{"owner":"Mrs. Rusert","donationSalutations":{}}},"displayedPercentFunded":0.0,"proposalsOnPage":[257960],"pmaId":"","teacherProfilePhotoURL":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-5_272.png?auto=webp","teacherHasProfilePhoto":false,"currentWorkflowStatusCode":7,"teacherChallengeId":44062,"isApplePayEnabled":true,"fundedByTarget":false,"activeProject":null,"donorIdsForImpactPhotoCheck":[],"teacherId":223009,"schoolCounty":"Polk","fullyFunded":false,"isStudentLed":false,"isExpired":true,"schoolStateObj":{"code":"AR","name":"Arkansas"}}