Planting Trees

One hundred trees were added to the forest in Maslana, near Suakholi on Friday, August 22nd. This was in collaboration with Rev. Edwin Daliya, friends of Garhwal and the Forest Department of Uttarakhand. Sixth Grader, Elisabeth Pesavento writes below of Grades Five and Six transformations from an empty hillside to a forest of the future.

As we got out of the school bus, a cool breeze rustled the plants on the hillside. The sun was shining softly in the partly cloudy sky. We climbed down carefully to the area where we would be planting trees. The ground around us was covered in holes for the trees, and the narrow paths wound around the whole hillside. Each of us took a baby tree and found a vacant hole. The tiny trees were placed delicately in the holes with the leaves facing the sun. We held the tree in place while we gently pushed the dirt into the hole. There had to be six centimeters of the dirt above the roots. We patted the ground around the tree until the dirt was firm. Each fifth and sixth grader planted at least two trees. We planted many different types of trees, including oak. When it was time to leave, everyone was disappointed. We all made our way back up to the road to have a snack. While we were eating, we stared at the barren hillside. Someday, that empty hillside would be covered in beautiful lush green trees.