Margret Stöckler
It all started with the touching story in the book "Oups and his friend the tree".
This wonderful story tells how Oups makes his way to Earth to visit a tree standing lonely and abandoned in a meadow. Oups actually wants to comfort the poor tree, but after a few words, Oups realizes that the tree is not lonely at all – on the contrary! He has many friends, and for a specific reason: he likes to share what he has to share with everyone who crosses his path.
We read the story together and felt that we could all make our world a better place together.
Touched by the story, the children painted a picture of their favorite tree in their "Heart Education" workbooks.
Some also shared what messages their tree held for them and that they had often had heart-to-heart conversations with their tree. Perhaps it is important to mention at this point that the children had already learned the story of Oups and his favorite tree two years earlier and were familiar with the idea of listening to the voices of trees and animals in their hearts. We philosophized together about the many wonders a tree holds for us humans and animals, and suddenly it was there – the idea of planting trees ourselves and helping our planet Earth.
Shortly thereafter, we began: We carefully and lovingly planted acorns – which I had collected during a walk not far from author Kurt Hörtenhuber's house – in small clay pots. Of course, we were very curious whether it would really work to grow trees from the small acorns. We were amazed when the first shoots appeared after a few weeks! The children reliably took care of their little plants, and lo and behold: Soon we had tiny baby oak trees standing on our classroom windowsill.
Shortly thereafter, we received the first suggestions of where we could plant our trees, and in June, we were able to plant three small trees in various locations within our municipality.
Everyone helped, and each child was able to contribute with a small but important gesture. And, of course, Oups was always there! 
If you're also eager to start this project, take a look at the Heart Education workbook. There, you'll also find an excerpt from the book. You can also browse through the booklet. 
