NATCHEZ — After a big tree giveaway Friday, the Adams County Soil & Water Conservation District will be heading into schools this week to teach school children the importance of trees.

The giveaway, in which approximately 5,000 pine trees were given to those who wanted them, was a part of Mississippi’s celebration of Arbor Day, sponsored by the conservation district, the Adams County Extension Service and the Mississippi Forestry Commission.

The reason for the giveaway is simple, Cheryl McClure with the Soil and Water Conservation District said.

“We wanted to encourage people to get out and plant trees,” McClure said.

People should plant trees for many reasons, McClure said.

“They help with soil erosion, they give us wind barriers, they take carbon dioxide out of the environment and they provide shelter for animals,” she said. “That’s the short list.”

Along with the tree giveaway, the district also sold approximately 1,500 non-pine trees. The funds received from the sale will be used for environmental education programs.

The district will go into Adams County third-grade classrooms this week and teach the students about the benefits of planting trees.

“We will give three trees to every student to take home and plant,” McClure said.

Most county-level soil and water districts have some kind of push to plant trees, Billy Davis with the Mississippi Soul and Water Conservation Commission said.

The original Arbor Day began with schoolchildren in the Midwest in the 1800s, Davis said.

The national Arbor Day celebration will be April 25.