Article written by Ainsley Hall and published in The Journal on February 21, 2026, link to article HERE.
Berkeley Heights Elementary teachers Kelly Gray and Angeleigha Graybill are teaching students about animals through the Roots and Shoots Club.
This program was started by Jane Goodall, an English primatologist and anthropologist, to empower children to make change in their communities. Through this club, students are learning about wolf conversation and other endangered species, while also playing their part to help their environment.
Gray led a Roots and Shoots Club at a school in Washington before coming to West Virginia. Her husband served in the military, which meant they’ve lived in several different places over the years. With her experience working with orcas, Gray has always had a passion for animals. When she started working at Berkeley Heights Elementary, she saw that they didn’t have a program like Roots and Shoots, so she decided to start one herself.
As she started talking with administrators and other teachers, Graybill, physical education teacher, said she wanted to help out. Together, they started teaching kids about endangered animals and how they can be good stewards of nature. This year, they’ve been learning about wolves and have even adopted a wolf named Kinari through the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, New York.
One of the main messages Gray and Graybill hope the students take away from Roots and Shoots is learning the importance of every animal and connecting better with nature. Graybill has seen kids who don’t want to go outside, because they are afraid of bugs or don’t want to touch the grass. She wants to encourage them to put down their iPads and connect with the world around them.
“I want students to realize that our ecosystem is all interconnected,” Graybill said. “We all must work together and respect nature. Humans are a keystone species but so are wolves. And as Berkeley County grows, there are animals that are being displaced from their homes. I want kids to keep that in mind and learn not to be afraid of nature.”
Twice a week, the club will visit other classrooms for park ranger sessions, where students will present on wolves and talk about how important they are to the ecosystem. Students take turns speaking, sharing facts about wolves and passing around wolf pelts and paw prints.
Gray said that she’s watched many of the students come out of their shells and become more confident as they learn important life skills like public speaking. The club has even inspired several students like Cora Harshman to consider working with animals in the future.
“My favorite thing about the club is whenever we look at the webcam,” Harshman said. “It’s fun to see Kinari and the other wolves and see how they are acting.”
“I like learning about all the animals, too - not just the wolves, but mountain lions and bears, too," Greyson Linaburg added.
By the end of the year, the students will become Junior Wolf Biologists because of their work with the Wolf Conservation Center and raising funds for Kinari. They will receive official certificates from the Wolf Conservation Center’s educator and outreach coordinator, Andrew Connolly, once they are ready to graduate.
However, the Roots and Shoots Club doesn’t just learn about animals. The club also has a special electric ride-on car that students drive around the school to collect trash and clean up classrooms. As the weather gets warmer, Gray plans to take students outside to keep the school campus clean. Students even offered to give up their recess to help pick up trash.
Gray and Graybill hope to encourage more teachers to get involved. They want to continue to grow the program and create more opportunities for students to learn and grow their passion for animals.
For more information, visit https://rootsandshoots.org/.