Students from the Adventist Educational System in the North Mexican Union prepare the ground to plant several trees as part of regional reforestation initiative engaging 19 preschool, primary and secondary schools May 11-17, 2022.  Some 700 students and teachers cleaned and beautified and planted 400 trees during the initiative. Photo: North Mexican Union/SEA]

August 4, 2022 | Montemorelos, Nuevo Leon, Mexico | Keila Urbano and Inter-American Division News

Students from across the 19 Seventh-day Adventist primary and secondary schools throughout the North Mexican Union took part recently in a week-long campaign to plant 400 trees throughout parks and communities.

The initiative, coined as “Planting Hope,” was part of a series of activities that engaged students, teachers, principals, and parents in the planting of hundreds of trees that will provide shade, grow fruits, and colorful flowers in green areas and public spaces where schools are located, organizers said.

A preschooler from the Juan Escutia Adventist School in Saltillo, Coahuila in north Mexico, water a recently potted plant during the reforestation and beautifying initiative across communities near Adventist schools grounds. [Photo: North Mexican Union/SEA]

“We wanted to take part in reaffirming the vision and commitment of the Adventist Educational System in the North Mexican Union to educate the new generations in the preservation and care of the environment,” said Enrique Dzul, academic vice president of the Adventist school system in the North Mexican Union territory.  This was the first time that the Adventist Educational System organized coordinated efforts in reforestation across the Northern territory.

Before the planting of the trees, about 700 students took part in cleaning and restoration in green areas and schools surrounding public spaces, said Dzul. The initiative was part of commemorating the 100th anniversary since the Inter-American Division was organized in 1922, he added.

Many schools took a full day of cleaning and planting, while others took several days to engage the students and their families in the reforestation projects.

A student from the Soledad Acevedo de los Reyes Adventist School helps plant a tree in Montemorelos, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. [Photo: North Mexican Union/SEA]

“Each school appointed a special committee to organize and coordinate each activity, following specific guidelines to implement and carry out the activity,” said Dzul. “Through this important activity, we endorse the commitment to preserve and take care of the environment, and our students enjoyed an excellent opportunity to serve and testify in their communities,” Dzul said.

As part of the initiative, students distributed Adventist literature and prayed with people.

The Adventist Educational System in the North Mexican Union oversees 34 schools at the preschool, primary and secondary levels.

To learn more about the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the North Mexican Union, go to adventistasumn.org

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