When Pequea Valley Intermediate School STEM 8/STEM 8 Advanced teacher Jamiel Smoker received information about a PPL Foundation Empowering Educators grant program from principal John Trovato at the beginning of the 2021-22 school year, he looked at the projects the previous winners had submitted.

"They had some neat things," noted Smoker, who thought his idea had a chance. He completed the application by the Sept. 30 due date.

In early November, Smoker learned that he was one of 50 teachers across the state to receive a $1,000 grant to spend on equipment and materials for a project. The funds will purchase the instruments needed to teach a cross-curricular lesson involving science, math, and the study of trees. Utilizing a stand of trees located on school property, all eighth-grade students will have the opportunity to take part in the project in a required STEM class.

Smoker plans to employ the Pythagorean Theorem to teach students how to discover the height of a tree. "The kit comes with a device for a 45-degree angle," he explained. "You hold it level, and you see the top of the tree. (For example, at) 55 feet away, the theorem tells me the tree is 55 feet tall. That's a hands-on, out in the field (lesson)," he said.

The implications of weather on trees and history will also be part of the class. "There is a tree borer (in the kit) that will bore a hole into the tree and pull the center out (in a round cylindrical rod) so you can see the growth rings," said Smoker, who noted that the age of the tree and extreme weather patterns can be uncovered from looking at the tree rings. He explained that information about historical Jamestown was discovered this way. "They determined that there was a hard drought when Jamestown was settled (by seeing that) the trees didn't do well (at that time)," he said. "That's the historical application of tree knowledge. We can prove history with that." He noted that the tree is not harmed by the boring.

Learning about trees and different types of wood is already part of Smoker's classes. "I have a tree of the day," he said, noting that the tree is projected on the screen and that he talks about it to the class for a minute or two. For instance, on Nov. 15, the tree of the day was bald cypress, a tree that resists rot and therefore was used for masts and planks of ships. "This is how they may have shaped these trees for ship building," explained Smoker, pointing to the unusually shaped trees on the screen.

Smoker referred to the kit as a "wish list item." "I didn't think it would fall under the yearly budget, but this opportunity came up," he said.

The PPL Foundation has given out more than $300,000 to 265 teachers since its inception in 2003.