Folks,
I got mad. I’ll admit it wasn’t my finest moment.
The proteges in our Reforestation Mentoring Program had reached the point of moving their seedlings from the nursery to the hillside. They had worked so hard to build the nursery, raise their seedlings (300 each), and chip out beds and ramps on the rocky hard hillside for the final planting. It was a Thursday, and they diligently carried the seedling flats down the steep hill to plant in neat rows out in the full sun.
We high-fived. Everyone was thrilled to have reached this landmark.
The next Monday we gathered together for our usual meeting only to find various seedlings had been yanked out of the soil and taken away! Dismay. Bewilderment. Anger. We all stomped around venting our feelings. How could anyone do such a thing?
The answer – which we soon found out – knocked the wind out of me. Small children in the area had ripped out the seedlings to take to their parents to plant near their homes. Wow.
Consider what that means. Even little children in our CODEP communities know the value of trees and of growing them. I can’t think of a better way to explain that it is the culture of growing trees which makes CODEP a success. Trees are the greatest gift to give to our children. CODEP children know that and when they could, they took that special gift to their parents.
Michael Anello
Executive Director
DON’T FORGET!
The Online Auction Starts TOMORROW Morning
We are delighted to have some super items for you to bid on. Join in the fun and help us with our annual fundraising auction. You can participate by going to https://haitireforest.org and clicking on box “View Auction Items.”
A Mountaintop Get-away in North Carolina
Untitled. 2021. By Halsey Hathaway.
Noise cancelling headphones. Just what you need when the world is simply Too Loud.