Students at Dutch Neck School in West Windsor are now part of an interstellar legacy—one that began 280,000 miles from Earth and landed right in their backyard.
To celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day, Jeff Eikelberner’s third-grade class introduced the school’s new Artemis Moon Tree during two special programs in April.
The sweetgum seedling, which germinated from a seed that orbited the moon aboard NASA’s 2022 Artemis I mission, is now planted near the pond in West Windsor’s Ron Rogers Arboretum.
The tree’s arrival was met with excitement and wonder during a school assembly on April 22. It featured a loud countdown before the seedling was wheeled onto the stage by students.
“It was beyond fun and the children were amazed,” event organizers said.
Just days later, students and families gathered again for an Arbor Day celebration, where the Moon Tree was officially presented to the public.
“Seeing our newly planted Moon Tree seedling, surrounded by all of the mature trees in our family of trees at the Arboretum—it is simply amazing,” said Teresa Lourenco, vice chair of the West Windsor Board of Recreation and Parks, who helped secure the tree.
The Moon Tree’s journey from orbit to West Windsor was years in the making. NASA and the U.S. Forest Service launched the Artemis Moon Tree project to echo the legacy of the original Moon Trees carried by Apollo 14 astronaut Stuart Roosa in 1971.
Those seeds were later planted across the country as part of the nation’s bicentennial celebration.
In 2022, seeds from five North American tree species—including sweetgum, sycamore, Douglas fir, loblolly pine, and giant sequoia—returned from the moon after a 26-day flight on the Orion spacecraft. Once germinated, seedlings were distributed to select educational and public institutions.
Dutch Neck School was among the few chosen to receive one, thanks to the joint efforts of Eikelberner and Lourenco.
“Mr. Eikelberner’s third-grade class was named as stewards for West Windsor’s new Artemis Moon Tree, a sweetgum seedling germinated from a seed flown on a 2022 NASA mission around the moon,” said Lourenco. “That’s right, our Moon Tree Seed orbited the Moon.”
The project’s roots go deeper than just science. The idea to apply for the Moon Tree grew from a heartfelt tradition. Each year, Eikelberner has his students write a letter to their future selves.
In 2013, one of those students—Dean Lourenco—received his letter just before graduating high school in 2022. The moment sparked a reconnection between student and teacher and later inspired Dean’s mother to forward the NASA Moon Tree application.
“Mr. Eikelberner would love that!” Lourenco said during a car ride to college after hearing a NASA announcement on the radio. By August 2023, the application was submitted, and West Windsor was one step closer to receiving its own lunar legacy.
The project has already had a deep impact on students and families.
“My son was so excited he had a tough time sleeping,” one parent shared. “She had a great time at Arbor Day.” another added.
Comments like, “This is great,” and “This feels special,” poured in from teachers, parents and students.
Dutch Neck School now plans to build educational programming around the Moon Tree, integrating lessons about space science, Earth systems, and conservation.
The dedication ceremony is still to come, pending an official certificate from NASA.
“We invite you into our parks to explore,” Lourenco said. “Our Moon Tree journey has only just begun.”
The Artemis I Moon Tree sits on the Dutch Neck School Welcome Wagon.,
