(5/4/23) The youth service group at Andover High School didn’t let some cool weather and gray skies stop them. The group hosted a successful tree planting event on Saturday, April 29. The purpose was to offset the school’s annual energy consumption and make the community more sustainable.
The students partnered with the nonprofit organization Tree-Plenish to determine how many tons of carbon Andover High School emitted into the environment via gas and electricity consumption. It was determined they would need to plant 250 trees in order to offset the 300 tons of carbon their school emitted in a year. Planting trees offers many environmental benefits, including improving air quality and replenishing the atmosphere with oxygen.
Residents were able to order the free saplings online. Volunteers planted the trees in Andover yards the day of the event. Residents also had the option of picking the saplings up at the school and planting the trees themselves.
“We were excited to carry out this project that will have a measurable impact on the environment, right here in our community,” said Andover High School junior Claire Van Gheem. “This project exemplifies how willing the community is to come together around sustainability.”
Anoka-Hennepin Community Education coordinates the youth service activities and projects at each high school. Sustainability was the youth service club’s theme this school year. In addition to planting trees, the group completed projects around recycling and educating future generations.
