YEAR 6 students at Euroa's St John's Primary School have enjoyed a quiet afternoon getting their hands dirty while learning how to propagate native plants.

Local environmentalist Ray Thomas makes regular trips to the school to talk about and then demonstrate the secrets of plant conservation through propagation.

"I don't know if you've ever been to St John's," Mr Thomas said.

"But the welcome there is really something.

"It is a quiet and yet a sort of 'busy-quiet' learning environment."

Mr Thomas spent Friday afternoon with eight students at the school and a tray of large tussock-grass which is a local native plant species, teaching the finer points of propagating vegetation.

Mr Thomas said the visits he makes to the school for these sessions were well supported by local nurseries who donated plants.

"The Euroa Arboretum are great - they've been very generous," he said.

"So too has Rochester Nursery and Park Lane Nursery in Wangaratta.

"Each of the nurseries 'gets' what its all about, they understand what we're doing and that's really giving the kids empowerment for the future.

"The nurseries and the students say 'yes we understand that'.

"I am honoured to work with them."