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Pleasant Valley School's campus sees community identity live on through a wood carving of the school mascot, Buddy the Beaver.

When the campus opened in 1976, two red oak trees stood in the front lawn of the primary school. Last spring, an arborist noticed the larger of the two trees was dying, and, for the safety of students and staff, the red oak came down.

Principal Craig Pearson knew the tree meant a lot to the identity of the community on the far south side of Battle Ground Public Schools district.

"This is my seventh year here, and one thing I've learned with our community is they hang tight onto tradition and all things Pleasant Valley," Pearson said. "So, I knew that when this tree was coming down, that it would be met with a lot of internal emotion and frustration and all of that. So, I worked hard with our building and our community to identify how can we lose something by getting something out of it."

Pearson sent emails to staff and students for ideas, which led to a wood carver's wife to pitch the idea.

To read more from this article, visit: https://thereflector.com/stories/pleasant-valley-schools-spirit-lives-on-through-wood-carving,326132