JARRATT - It was the muddiest mud he had ever seen.

At least that's what nine-year-old Bryan Gibson said as he wiped the grime from his hands.

"It was soft and squishy and just down right muddy mud."

But getting a bit dirty was quite worth it, he added. Bryan and nearly 40 of his schoolmates from Potomac Elementary School in King George County weren't just playing in the mud for the heck of it.

No, they were giving an early holiday gift to the environment, they said.

Their mission: to restore a mighty, historical tree in its native Greensville County.

And if planting the special trees meant getting a little dirty, that was OK, they said.

On Tuesday, the children planted 95 longleaf pine seedlings along a Virginia Department of Transportation wetlands mitigation site, just south of the Greensville-Sussex line.

The students received a grant from the Toyota Corp. to work with Meadowview Biological Research Station of Woodford to restore both the rare longleaf pine and the carnivorous yellow pitcher plant to Southeast Virginia.

According to Phil Sheridan, director of Meadowview Biological Research Station and a Ph.D student at Old Dominion University, the longleaf pine once grew strong throughout Virginia and Greensville County.

"This area had a colony of longleaf pines as recently as the 1960s, when it was harvested here for timber," Sheridan said.

"Thus, the planting of the longleaf pine in the county by the students today represents the return of this rare tree to its native county. That's why we chose this county."

The roots of the longleaf pine, he added, can be traced back to the colonization of Virginia, when settlers used the pine to build what are now Norfolk and other thriving areas.

"The longleaf pine built Norfolk. Our ancestors used it to build Colonial Virginia. It was used extensively by colonists to obtain tar and turpentine,

"The longleaf pine is a very important part of Virginia history," he said, wiping dirt from his hands and tending to the children as he spoke.

Longleaf pine wood is also very marketable, he said.

"It's more valuable than the loblolly pine. It is also much more fire resistant than many woods."

Sheridan speaks in a booming, commanding voice that turns tender, yet passionate when speaking of the children, the environment and the longleaf pine.

"We believe the longleaf pine once covered 1.5 million acres in Virginia. Our research shows that only 4,432 longleaf pine are left in Virginia covering less than 800 acres at only four sites in Isle of Wight, Southampton and Suffolk.

"Less than 800 acres! That's terribly sad. A child reads about how colonists built Virginia with the longleaf pine yet he can't go out and see one because they are dying out."

The longleaf pine should not fade from Virginia's majestic landscape, the children and their teachers insist.

"We are planting these trees because we want to return them to the wild and back to their natural environment. These trees are becoming extinct. We don't want this species of trees to die out because it is native to Virginia," said nine-year-old Nancy Belle, a fourth-grader.

The project did have one additional perk, she noted with a large grin and a slight giggle.

"I like digging in the dirt and the mud. It's really fun, although sometimes today I have gotten stuck."

"The trees give you oxygen. You need that to breathe. The trees help make a cleaner environment and cleaner air," added fellow fourth-grader Jessica King.

The project actually started quite small, said Scott Gilbert, grant and project director and a teacher at Potomac Elementary School.

"One of my fellow teachers found the Toyota Tapestry Grant application. We stayed up many nights working on it. The children had developed an interest in gardening and plants and bogs.

"Then Phil said he would love for the children to be a part of the longleaf pine project and it all just grew from there," he said, adding that neither he nor his fellow teachers actually expected to receive the $10,000 grant.

With the grant, the need and the desire in place, the children then began their game plan.

Longleaf pine seeds were collected from an International Paper tree farm in Franklin.

From the seeds grew tiny seedlings, which the students nurtured and raised while anticipating an appropriate planting site.

Enter the Virginia Department of Transportation. The agency offered a portion of a wetlands mitigation site.

The children's planting project helped VDOT replace trees that had been removed during road construction.

Now, tucked behind an Interstate 95 shoulder rest acres of repaired wetlands and 95 new longleaf pines.

Most motorists probably would not even notice the quiet, tranquil site, but they will reap the benefits, said Ricky Woody, VDOT state equality program director.

"This area had acidic soil problems. That means the soil was releasing acid into the environment. That can get in your water supply. The planting and survival of these trees means improved water quality"Ó he said, adding that the tree planting project lent some excitement to VDOT staffers, as well as to the children.

"I really enjoy seeing the kids actually learning about the soil and the trees. One of the biggest problems I feel we face is a lack of environmental education.

"The condition of the environment affects every generation. If this generation gets excited about ecology and preservation, I believe that will make for a better environment for all of us in the future.

"I also believe a project like this teaches respect and responsibility. We could use more of that in the world today. So, seeing the kids getting excited about this is what's exciting to me."

Sheridan said trees help the environment, as a young forest absorbs and stores carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that can contribute to negative environmental conditions.

Spreading that message to children is vital, he said.

"I think educating kids on protecting the environment is just as important as teaching them math and reading."

This project, he added, helps the students and teachers with the new Standards of Learning requirements.

"This gives them an understanding of basic plant biology, rare plant conservation, and an increased awareness of environmental issues.

"At the same time, they are bringing back this beautiful tree to Southside Virginia. What could be better?"

As Sheridan and the children planted their trees, he issued a challenge and an invitation to local students and teachers.

"I would love for children from Greensville County to join with us. I invite them to partner up with us and Potomac Elementary School. We can work on these projects together.

"The environment is so important. We want clean air. We need clean water. It's that simple. I hope next time we do this, we will have Greensville County children with us," he said.

After about two hours of digging, tugging, scooping and patting, the trees were planted, and the children were covered in mud.

As they trekked back to their bus to return to Dahlgreen, muddy feet and hands and all, they turned back to look at the product of their hard work.

In a once-brown, barren area now stood 95 healthy, green longleaf pines.

The children were proud, they said. Suddenly, two quiet little voices whispered, "Goodbye trees. We'll be back."

For more information on the longleaf pine or to develop a similar planting project, contact Sheridan at 633-4336 or go to the Meadowview Biological Research Station web page at www.pitcherplant.org.