In honor of Arbor Day, Sweetwater High School recently added five new trees to their campus for the sake of enhancing student and environmental health. Arbor Day is a national holiday dedicated to encourage individuals and groups to plant trees. Thanks to a partnership with Lumbercycle, A Reason to Survive (ARTS), CALFIRE, SDG&E and California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, the grant funded opportunity encourages planting more of the right trees in the right places as a vital part of healthy communities and ecosystems, providing countless benefits.

“In less than a year, we at Sweetwater High will be celebrating our 100 year anniversary,” said Sweetwater High Principal Maribel Gavin. “As of right now, we do not have enough green spaces on campus. We appreciate the generous assistance and support to beautify Sweetwater High School for the betterment of our students, staff and environment.”

Sweetwater High students from select environmental classes, participated in the event where representatives from Lumbercycle and CALFIRE provided an educational demonstration on how to properly plant and water trees. The school received two Raywood Ash and three Chinese Flame trees that are appropriate species for this location.

According to Lumbercycle, these benefits include giving humans oxygen needed to breathe, improving air quality, slowing climate change by incorporating carbon into wood, cooling neighborhoods with shade, reducing energy bills and enhancing human physical and mental well-being, to name a few.

After the tree planting demonstration, students formed teams and were supported by expert coaches to plant and water the remaining four trees around campus.

“This exercise not only is educational for our students but good for our climate,” said Principal Gavin.