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It was undeniably a wonderful excuse to skip
classes. It was for a good cause: middle school
students were on their way to the picturesque
northern mountainous village of Shahtoul.
Accompanied by AUB Red Cross volunteers,
IBSAR representatives, they had the important
task of planting trees.
The small convoy made up of the AUB Red Cross
bus, IC bus and IBSAR (an NGO dedicated to
conservingLebanon’s biodiversity) vehicle finally
reached its destination (a small “mankoushe”
stopover was essential for apparently starving
13-year-olds).
The 21 students make up the school’s
“Environmental Pioneers” headed by Science
teacher, Sawsan Kibbe.
Each group of students was placed under
the capable hands of an AUB Red Cross
student. Dozens of pine trees and
strawberry tree shootswerehanded
to them. The lesson began.
“You dig the hole, you plant the
tree and you mulch. This means
you collect rocks and put them
around your tree,” explained
Arbi Sarkissian, the Project
Coordinator of thePower Planting
Program at IBSAR.
At first, handling shovels and axes
seemed a bit daunting. But soon
enough, students were digging and
planting.
“I love it,” said Ali Maktabi, 13 who has never
planted before. “We have a house in the
mountains and I’m going to plant trees there
too.”
Three spots along the road in the village of
Shahtoul were chosen. A grateful municipality
provided water and snacks.
The Environmental Pioneers have been
working all year for this day. In honor of this
year’s International Year of Biodiversity, they
have spearheaded a fundraising campaign at
IC for their planting tree drive.
“They decorated the bulletin boards of Sage
Hall with posters about the importance
of planting native and not invasive trees,”
Wa lki ng the ta lk
IC Students Plant Trees
IC NEWSLETTER -
SPRING 2010
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