Rotarians throughout Sarnia were busy planting more than 100 trees as part of a commitment by Rotary International to plant a tree for every member worldwide.
Several dozen members were at Holy Trinity Catholic School starting at 9 a.m. Saturday. They were expected to head to Lansdowne School as part of the project.
A pledge made by Rotary International President Ian H.S. Riseley sparked the initiative by local Rotarians to take on the local project. Rotary International has some 1.2 million members.
John DeGroot, a member of the Rotary Club of Sarnia, explains:
Rotary International President Riseley made the case at a gathering of Rotarians that protecting the environment and curbing climate change are essential to the service club’s goal of sustainable service.
“The time is long past when environmental sustainability can be dismissed as not Rotary’s concern. It is, and must be, everyone’s concern,” he said.
The challenge was made that every Rotary club would make a difference by planting a tree for each of its members between the start of the Rotary year on July 1, 2017 and Earth Day on April 22, 2018. Trees remove carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the air, which slows global warming.
