WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - On Thursday, local students learned an appreciation for one of our community's heritage tree species.

Students at Williston Middle School began the process of creating a nursery of live oaks as part of a partnership with the Alliance for Cape Fear Trees.

They gathered acorns which will be taken to Penderlea Farms for planting. Students say they had a lot of fun picking the acorns from the school's campus.

"I like the part where we were able to get on the ladder and pick the acorns down, I learned that you don't pick the whole acorn whole and you like to get out the shell and then you get the acorn. I didn't know that, so that was really cool to learn," said a seventh-grader at Williston, Amir Cromartie.

Once the trees grow into saplings, they'll be handed out at community giveaways.