Climate program and community tree planting

On a sunny November Sunday, our teens engaged in their first social action for the school year – learning about climate change and planting trees to help fight it.

 

Environmental experts Lorna and Murray Rosenberg prepared an interesting learning session about climate change and its impacts on our lives. They highlighted the Jewish connection and commitment to the environment, and they discussed ways to fight climate change with the teens. It was wonderful to see how much our students already knew, and how much they care.

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Lorna and Murray are also responsible for the “shidduch” between JTC and Mindy Lemoine, of the PA Horticultural Society Tree Tenders. The PHS Tree Tenders program plants and cares for thousands of trees throughout the Greater Philadelphia area. The program is based on hundreds of volunteers who together form more than 80 local Tree Tender groups, who plant trees in residential neighborhood to better the communities they live in.

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Mindy, along with Tree Tender Dan, brought three bare-root trees for us to plant and explained the planting process step by step. Our students learned that as trees grow, they help stop climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the air and releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. They learned that tree canopy reduces surface temperatures by shading homes and releasing water vapor into the air. They also block cold winter winds, attract birds and wildlife, clean our water and make our neighborhoods healthier, more beautiful, and safer places to live in.

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Armed with work gloves and shovels, JTC students began digging, removed damaged roots with a pickaxe when needed, measured, covered, watered and even fenced the trees. The teens really got their hands dirty, worked very hard, but seemed to enjoy every minute of it.