Katie Rueff – Fall 2021 Award Recipient

Our next Get Involved Award recipient is Katie, a junior at Gunn High School. For her service project, she volunteered with Canopy, a local non-profit tree-planting organization. Watch her interview with Get Involved Foundation here on our Youtube channel and read her project write-up below.

This past year, I had the fortune of leading a project to bring Canopy, a local non-profit tree planting organization, to the PAUSD high schools. Before each tree planting, I recruited volunteers from Gunn and Paly, persuading them to come back every month. I also joined each planting to help my fellow high schoolers learn how to plant trees. By the end of the planting season in June, my team and I had not only helped our urban forest grow by over 90 trees, but I myself had grown significantly.

For one, this project taught me the importance of community; you can’t plant a tree by yourself, let alone a whole forest. It takes countless, diligent volunteers to unite to make a significant difference within their neighborhood. But, I also learned that one can’t grow a community like this without the sustained, collective efforts of passionate individuals. I was lucky enough to be one of those individuals who helped to rally those around me into a strong, impactful force.

Having said that, taking time to plant trees and organize tree plantings is especially crucial because trees serve as one of the most prominent carbon sinks on our Earth. So, as Climate Change continues to become an ever-increasing threat to the lives of young people like me, I feel hopeful every planting to be able to point to the tree I just buried into the ground and say, “I made a difference!”

And, while my impact alone may be small, the greatest message I’ve taken away from my experience is that every little action adds up; one tree may not sound like a lot, but as a community of empowered individuals, suddenly that one tree becomes 50, or even more!

Ultimately, I am so grateful for the time I spent recruiting volunteers, attending tree plantings, and learning from those more experienced than me. This year, I will be continuing my work with Canopy and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have this opportunity to become a better person while also benefiting the community and the world as we continue in our never-ending war against Climate Change.