Trees are important to our community! They give us access to oxygen, absorb water to prevent floods and release excess water, through vapor that adds to rainfall. When the tree absorbs water, it prevents flooding as well as drought. Trees also stabilize the soil, preventing erosion and landslides.

Trees keep the air cool, which is very important in the summer. Trees help us as people by providing shelter and resources for food. They add nutrients to the soil for better crops. They also improve your health, specifically mental health. Trees are to be stress relieving and can be helpful for physical health. Trees also allow different and more jobs, like carpenters, arborists, and wood machinists.

We use wood from trees in our daily lives- in our houses, tables, cabinets, etc. Having trees add to people’s income and eventually promote more opportunities for the citizens in that particular community. Adding to the concept of physical health, some medicines come from trees, for example, aspirin and pain relievers like ibuprofen. In conclusion trees are important for our community in all aspects of our lives. 

Have you ever wondered how trees can be planted in your neighborhood? Well, you’re in luck because we (Girl Scouts) planted one ourselves! On November 15, the magic happened: we planted a street tree right here in North Philadelphia. Here’s the story of how it happened.

That morning, it was hard to get started because one of us had a migraine but after feeling better, we met with our whole Girl Scout troop and more than one hundred volunteers at Esperanza. When we got there, we had to listen to the instructions to make it happen. While we listened to the instructions, we ate a little treat to give us energy in order to be up to the job of planting a tree.

When we got assigned a group, a tree, and supplies we had to walk to the magical place. Before the tree was planted it was not very jolly without the tree. But to make it jolly we had to get to work and plant it.

To plant a tree, it takes some strong hands, but we were in luck because us Girl Scouts have some strong ladies. Of course, we had to make it a little fun so we added a little of our DIY family feud by one of our Girl Scout clowns. It made things more jolly right before we added the tree.

We had to dig and dig in some very hard dirt to make a hole for the precious tree. After we did that, we added the tree. To keep the tree safe and secure we patted the soil down and gave it protection. After we did that, we molded a little bowl to soak any rain into the soil that the tree is planted in. We gave it a little more safety by applying wood stakes and tying them to the tree so that any wind or rain won’t knock it down.

We are both in middle school and live in Hunting Park. If we can do it, you can have a magical day too! Join us at the next Esperanza tree planting day.

For more information about joining or starting a Girl Scout troop, visit gsep.org.