Thatcher High School students had plenty of fresh air and sunshine for their classroom Wednesday as they teamed up with the U. S. Forest Service to help fight soil erosion.

About 120 students joined other volunteers and Forest Service staff at the Stockton Pass picnic area about 30 miles southwest of Safford off Highway 266. The group formed human chains and moved 36 tons of rock to form about 53 erosion dams in gullies on the mountain. The group mulched the area as well.

The stabilization program is part of the Forest Service’s annual Earth Day event, which the Service’s District Range and Watershed Specialist Chuck Duncan has been organizing for the past 21 years.

Safford District Ranger and Watershed Specialist Chuck Duncan mans the last spot in a human chain and places the stones to form an erosion dam. Duncan, other volunteers and about 120 students from Thatcher High School made 53 erosion dams in the Coronado National Forest. Photo by Jon Johnson

Thatcher High School has worked with the Forest Service since the inception of the local Earth Day program.

The first Earth Day was held April 22, 1970, and was intended to educate people on environmental issues while celebrating the Earth. More than 500 million people in 175 different countries celebrated Earth Day in 2007.

Thatcher Athletic Director/English teacher Hal Mulleneaux participates in the project every year and said it is a good experience for the students.

“It’s good because there’s some kids that really do well in this kind of environment – where they kind of struggle to sit still in the classroom,” he said. “I’ve noticed some of the kids out here are really working hard.”

While the students get a hands-on learning experience, their work is essential to the health of the mountain.

District Ranger Toni Strauss said the rock erosion dams will increase forage production and ground cover, and that will protect the soil. Gullies created by off-trail vehicle travel and fed by heavy rains, especially during monsoon, allow flood rains to pour down the mountain. The dams will reduce water runoff, slow down the water and allow it to be absorbed.

This will enable the damaged areas to return to a state where plants and animals can inhabit the area.