Arbor Day always brings back memories of the spring afternoon when our son, Matt, then about 6, decided to save the earth...all by himself. 
I was out in the yard when he came tripping off the bus and up the driveway, backpack bouncing, shoes untied, struggling with a huge bundle of 'sticks' that was nearly as big as he was.
He and his classmates had learned about the benefits of planting trees and each were given a 'stick' (seedling) to plant at home. For some reason, many of the kids left the doors of school and chucked their 'sticks' as they ran to the bus or to their bikes. Upon seeing this, Matt positioned himself and began piling the abandoned seedlings. More kids passed by and added their sticks to his pile.
When I asked about the bundle he was toting, Matt told me how he was going to make the air better for us to breathe...."Trees suck up all the bad stuff in the air...." (Translation: Trees absorb carbon dioxide.)
Without being told, he changed his clothes, found a good shovel and began his task. He was on a mission! I didn't pay much attention but this little project kept him occupied for a long time. He finally came to the house for supper, red-cheeked and dirty...and all smiles!
After supper he proudly took me by the hand to show off his little plot. He had planted all his seedlings in the woods near our house. Oops, one problem. He had put them only a few inches apart! (Matt's compact reforestation project)
We sat down on the steps, had a popsicle and a little visit about how planting trees was like planting corn......and how it was different. In the end, he allowed me to help him transplant some of his precious seedlings to other places around the yard.
Twenty-seven years later here are some of Matt's treasures...
I was out in the yard when he came tripping off the bus and up the driveway, backpack bouncing, shoes untied, struggling with a huge bundle of 'sticks' that was nearly as big as he was.
He and his classmates had learned about the benefits of planting trees and each were given a 'stick' (seedling) to plant at home. For some reason, many of the kids left the doors of school and chucked their 'sticks' as they ran to the bus or to their bikes. Upon seeing this, Matt positioned himself and began piling the abandoned seedlings. More kids passed by and added their sticks to his pile.
When I asked about the bundle he was toting, Matt told me how he was going to make the air better for us to breathe...."Trees suck up all the bad stuff in the air...." (Translation: Trees absorb carbon dioxide.)
Without being told, he changed his clothes, found a good shovel and began his task. He was on a mission! I didn't pay much attention but this little project kept him occupied for a long time. He finally came to the house for supper, red-cheeked and dirty...and all smiles!
After supper he proudly took me by the hand to show off his little plot. He had planted all his seedlings in the woods near our house. Oops, one problem. He had put them only a few inches apart! (Matt's compact reforestation project)
We sat down on the steps, had a popsicle and a little visit about how planting trees was like planting corn......and how it was different. In the end, he allowed me to help him transplant some of his precious seedlings to other places around the yard.
Twenty-seven years later here are some of Matt's treasures...
If every American family planted just one tree, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere would be reduced by one billion pounds annually.
Plant a tree....save the earth!
