April marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. With this in mind, this year’s environmental theme is “Earth Day Birthday,” with a focus on climate change. This year we are also supporting The Canopy Project and hope to plant 4,320 trees as a school by June.

Trees filter the air and stave off the effects of climate change. Trees also reverse the impacts of land degradation and provide food, energy and income to communities. In just one year, a mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen as 10 people inhale!

The Canopy Project improves our shared environment by planting trees across the globe. Since 2010, Earth Day Network has planted millions of trees with The Canopy Project, working worldwide to strengthen communities.

Earth Day Network has a goal of planting 7.8 billion trees- one tree for every person on earth- in honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in 2020.

Our Hamlin Environmental Ambassador Club has set a goal of raising funds to pay for 10 trees per student (at $1 a tree). We have already made progress toward this goal through the efforts of a hot cocoa sale and the work of “The Green Team Sewing Machine,” which sold reusable napkins and scrunchies at Winterfest. In the coming weeks girls are planning on asking for tree donations in lieu of traditional birthday gifts.

To learn more about this important project, please visit: https://www.earthday.org/campaign/the-canopy-project/