Tree-Plenish Fights Deforestation, One Sapling at a Time

From left to right, Ms. Alyssa Smith, three members of the Key Club, Stephanie Rakhmonova, and Brittany Rakhmonova give away trees in front of Midwood. Photo: Stephanie Rakhmonova

By FLORA FENG

Tree-Plenish, an anti-deforestation event hosted by junior Stephanie Rakhmonova, met its goal of planting or giving away 115 trees outside Midwood on April 17. 

Tree-Plenish is an organization that works with students around the country to plant trees to replace those “used” by schools through paper. Rakhmonova set a goal of replenishing 15% of Midwood’s annual paper use, or 115 trees. The Tree-Plenish team gave away 79 trees and planted the rest.

“I think it's a really cool idea,” Rakhmonova said. “I was very concerned with the current climate crisis and wanted to do my part in preventing deforestation. I believe it is our responsibility as a society to try our best to lower our carbon emissions and prevent climate change.”

Stephanie Rakhmonova ‘22 and Alexis Mai ‘23 celebrate their first tree order of the day. Photo: Stephanie Rakhmonova

With the help of Rakhmonova’s sister Brittany, Key Club volunteers, Ms. Alyssa Smith, Mr. Lawrence Kolotkin, and the Ivy League college students who organize Tree-Plenish nationally, the event was a success. The volunteers gave out Eastern Redbuds and Red Maples as saplings to students and passersby. Tree-Plenish also partnered with Nature’s Logic, giving out vouchers for free dog food.

“I think the community will not only benefit aesthetically with beautiful trees in their yards, but they will also see an increase in biodiversity, making homes for more animals, all while making the air cleaner,” said Rakhmonova. 

Alexis Mai ’23 and Douha Elmeniawy ‘22 helped out with the event. Mai ordered trees and planted them in her backyard. “Our world has gone through so much destruction, and I believe that doing my part, even if it means planting two trees, will make a small difference,” she said.

Ms. Smith also ordered a tree and planted it in her friend’s yard. “I think it is an important step that Stephanie took,” said Ms. Smith. “This is a small thing that we can do as a school to give back to our local community and our environment.”

Covid-19 has made such initiatives more difficult.

“The biggest challenge would be getting people out and aware of events,” said Ms. Smith. “We're not used to having events in person anymore.”

Through social media, Rakhmonova was able to spread the word about the tree giveaway. Jaclyn Gendler ‘23, the president of the Key Club, saw the guidance department’s post about the event on Instagram and decided to advertise the event to the club.

“Naturally, a school like Midwood uses, and often wastes, tons of paper,” Gendler said. “This overuse of paper means trees are being cut down at an unnatural pace, creating a threat to our environment. This is why this event was important.”

Alexis Mai took two trees home to plant in her backyard. Photo: Alexis Mai

Viktoriya Tychynska ‘23, a volunteer, had no space to plant a tree herself. But she said that everyday changes can help as well: “small things like turning lights off, using less water, recycling, and not consuming too many plastic materials.” Tychynska added, “Recently I've gotten my family to stop purchasing plastic water bottles, which is a huge step in the right direction for us.”

For those that missed out the chance to order a tree, Rakhmonova is planning another event next year. This time she has a bigger goal in mind with more volunteers and advertisements at school.

“It was a pleasure working with people to do something good for the environment,” Rakhmonova said. I suggest people do more research on the topic, and really try to open their minds as to what the next generation will have to go through to keep the planet we know and love inhabitable.”

Abdul Wahib and Nabeel Ahmed contributed to this article.