PLANTING A MILLION TREES
Hillsborough, NJ — Natalia Quiñonez
On Sunday, May 7, 2023, around 65 volunteers of the International WeLoveU Foundation teamed up with 50 Amazon volunteers to plant trees at Flagtown Park in Hillsborough, New Jersey from. Test
The volunteers planted evergreens, oaks, maples, white birch and red bud trees throughout the park. The tree-planting event is part of WeLoveU’s environmental campaign called the ‘Mom’s Garden Project’ which aims to plant one million trees by 2026 to achieve carbon neutrality and keep the Earth green.
WeLoveU volunteers in Boston, Miami, and other parts of New Jersey will also be carrying out tree-planting and environmental cleanup activities in celebration of this year’s Earth Day.
“The name ‘Mom’s Garden Project’ was inspired by the nostalgic feeling many people still have from helping to care for plants in their mother’s garden as an adolescent”, explained WeLoveU volunteer, Jessica LoGreco. “In 2022, WeLoveU began spreading this small yet impactful activity of caring for plants beyond our backyards to schools, workplaces, communities, and beyond. We’re thrilled to share this environmentally beneficial effort with the Amazon team through this tree-planting event.”
The General Manager at Amazon, NJ, states, “At Amazon, we set roots in our local communities and our partnership with the International WeLoveU Foundation is one special way that we are able to give back while helping our environment. This event was spearheaded by our Latinos@Amazon affinity group which is focused on building a strong community for Hispanic/Latinx employees. It was a success and brought together leaders from several different sites across New Jersey, including in Somerset, Florence, Robbinsville, and Carteret, who all share this common goal of supporting our great state.”
“What would happen if we paved over paradise? The future we are preparing today is 155,000 trees this year and 1 million trees by 2026. We know better than anyone the importance of trees, they provide oxygen, clean air and shade. In us coming together as a community today it is so wonderful, really. Congratulations to all in that we are not paving paradise, but we are creating a paradise today” explained Senator, Andrew Zwicker.
According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, planting trees improves air quality, boosts mental and physical health, protects people from diseases, combats climate change, and acts as a vital source of food and nutrition. Trees also reduce the effects of flooding and the amount of stormwater runoff that causes erosion and pollution in waterways. For more information on how to join the environmental movement, visit weloveuusa.org.
About the Intl. WeLoveU Foundation
Founder and Chairwoman Zahng Gil-jah established the International WeLoveU Foundation in 2001 — which is associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications (UN DGC) — as a vehicle to deliver a mother’s love to neighbors in need. The Chairwoman took a grassroots approach by personally interacting with and caring for the needs of the global village. Through the initiatives of education, emergency relief, environmental protection, health, international aid, and community well-being, the Chairwoman’s example of giving a mother’s love has spread from the east to the west and planted itself in more than 50 countries to inspire a healthy and hopeful future for many. For more information, visit weloveuusa.org.