San Diego Urban Tree Club - Mission Hills Tree Planting

San Diego Urban Tree Club - Mission Hills Tree Planting
Saturday, August 27, 2011: 10:00am-2:00pm
3:00pm: Mission Hills Public Tennis Courts - tree planting 
(intersection of Randolph & Washington Pl. )
4:00pm: reception for Henry Sanchez - 4021 Miller St, San Diego, CA 92103

This volunteer tree planting and educational event will welcome Henry Sanchez - professor of mathematics and environmental engineering from Columbia S.A. at the public tennis courts in Mission Hills. (Intersection of Randolph and Washington) Following the public service tree planting, join Henry and the Mission Hills Garden Club at a reception to hear him speak about his travels, his goals and his message. Donations will be accepted to support the San Diego Tree Club's outreach effort, but registration for this event is FREE.  Also at this reception, ISA Certified Arborist Robin Rivet will offer advice about how to choose and plant the best and healthiest trees for your home, school or business. She will provide handouts and FREE workshop information about CCSE's Advice and Technical Assistance Center for Urban Forestry.

The speaker Henry Sanchez, (the Tacolist.com Barefoot Eco-Runner), is running from Argentina to Alaska to bring awareness and education of protecting and reforesting our planet. As he enters each city, local volunteers and community organizations join him to plant trees, recycle and collect garbage, and present educational talks. He crossed the border in San Ysidro on August 18, 2011 and this event will be his third appearance in San Diego, and he will speak to the audience through a translator.

His ultra-marathon began on June 15th, 2008 and he is about to complete three years, traveling light with only two shirts and a pair of pants. The message is to preserve our natural resources. To date, more than six million trees have been planted and 2,000 tons of garbage removed and recycled. As a Columbian volunteer firefighter, the firehouses in fourteen countries have supported him throughout his journey by providing shelter and food. He has dedicated the last few years of his life to ecological activities.

Throughout this journey, his eyes have seen incredible devastation to the environment from glacier melting to pollution. Henry says, “ I have seen cities that have absolutely no pollution control and garbage everywhere. We need to push our governments and corporations to be environmentally responsible, recycle and not dispose their waste in the rivers. I am convinced that we can make a change. If we continue this way we will surely experience an environmental catastrophe.” Henry’s first run and tree planting in Mexico was in November 2010 at the World Environmental Summit. “Losing a tree to me is like losing a part of my body and it hurts. Thanks to trees, they make it possible for us to breathe. They are a true miracle of nature so why do we treat them so poorly.”

“Climate change is obvious in all the countries I have gone to. We have devoured nature with our constructions. We have destroyed nature and trees indiscriminately by the millions of acres. This is why I contribute my time, resources and dedication to this cause. And if one must sacrifice a life to make this happen for the benefit of humanity, I am honored to be the one.” – Henry Sanchez.

» This event is completed