Earth day is April 22, 2018 and that is the day that RI President Ian Riseley marked on the calendar for Rotary Clubs around the world to aim for in his "Plant a Tree" Challenge. He asked every club to plant one tree for every member in their club. The final deadline is the end of this Rotary year - June 30, 2018. RI Pres Ian did his part this Fall by planting a tree at Camp Gencheff, PEI.
Some clubs in D7820 have already planted their trees and others hope to complete the challenge by the start of the District Conference at the end of May.
As District Governor I have been fortunate to participate in a number of tree plantings.
During my official Governor's visit to the Rotary Club of St. Pierre et Miquelon in September, I cut the ribbon on the tree project at the airport with the help of the local Rotarians and visitors from my home Club of Avalon Northeast, Newfoundland.
Also in September, I was honoured to plant one of the dozens of trees placed on the trails near the Manuels River Hibernia Interpretation Centre in Conception Bay South (the site of the Professional Development Day on Thursday, May 24, 2018) to mark Canada's 150th Anniversary. Then, in mid- February, after attending the outstanding Presidential Peacebuilding Conference on Environmental Sustainability and Peace in Vancouver, I participated in a tree planting project on Sunday morning at Everett Crowley Park with Rotarians from across Canada and the USA as well as Haiti, the Philippines and Argentina!
Tree planting is a great way to show our respect for our Planet Earth. To learn more about the Tree Planting Challenge check out the information on the Environmental Sustainability Rotarian Action Group's website https://www.esrag.org/tree-planting-challenge. Your club can also tell its story of your tree planting project on the Rotary Showcase to earn credit towards the 2017-18 Rotary Citation . Here are instructions on how to do that: https://www.esrag.org/2017-2018-trees-planted-counter.
Don't forget to let me and your Assistant Governor know about your Tree Planting project because it also qualifies for the P.I.P.E. Dreams goals - Public Image, Peace and Environment! Please email your high resolution photos of your club planting trees to your local Assistant Governor and to me as District Governor.
Happy tree planting!
DG Don