WYOMING, Mich. — Under a sunny sky, Lee High School students are in a different kind of classroom. Dozens of them have gathered outside the Godfrey-Lee Early Childhood Center to plant 20 trees in front of the building.
It's a community service effort that provides the students an important lesson about climate change.
"Today, we're planting trees and just trying to give back to the community. We really enjoy planting the trees. It feels like it brings us closer to nature, and it's very peaceful. I felt very in touch with the earth when I did it," said junior Jakaira Hood-Lawn.
The students were volunteering as part of Miss Deborah Truszkowski's world disasters class. They are learning about heat waves that come with global climate change, and how they can adversely effect humans. Those in areas with smaller urban tree canopies are the most at-risk.
"The shade is really good for us. A lot of people need shade, especially if you're outside and it's really hot. It's about to be summer and you don't have shade, you don't have anywhere to go. So these trees are going to play a big role with that," said junior Gigi Martinez.
The students say it felt good to volunteer.
"Planting trees in high school is a really good thing. It brings so much peace into how you feel, especially in the world we live in now. It's like all the technology and all phones, Snapchat, Tiktok, all of that. We just get to come outside and plant trees at our school. It's a really good feeling," Martinez said.
Martinez and Hood-Lawn also planted a time capsule next to their tree.
"We wrote a note to our future selves and we wrote a note to each other. So when we come back in a few years or something, I can read the note she wrote to me and she can read the note I wrote to her. We also wrote down our goals for ourselves, and we hope to accomplish those and do great things in life," Hood-Lawn said.
The tree planting was a collaboration between the City of Wyoming Tree Commission, the Tree Amigos, the Godfrey-Lee Public Schools district, the DTE Energy Foundation, and ReLeaf Michigan.
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