One Million Trees, One Powerful Mission

Initiative zeroes in on the beauty and importance of celebrating Creation Sabbath.

September 2, 2025 | Emeraude Victorin Tobias, Geoscience Research Institute, and Adventist Review

This year marks the fifteenth anniversary of Creation Sabbath, a global celebration that recognizes the beauty of God’s creation. While many have embraced this event, there are still countless others who have never had the opportunity to take part in it. This is something Jane Muinde, a biology doctoral student at Loma Linda University in California, United States, was determined to change.

It all started during a class field trip organized by Loma Linda University’s Department of Earth and Biological Sciences, when Timothy Standish, senior scientist at the Geoscience Research Institute and adjunct associate professor at Loma Linda University, introduced her to the concept of Creation Sabbath. A day set aside to honor the wonders of creation? Muinde was intrigued by this initiative. What began as a personal interest in Creation Sabbath soon blossomed into the International Creation Club, a global movement aimed at raising awareness and inspiring action to preserve God’s creation. Their most ambitious project to date? Planting 1 million trees across the East-Central Africa Division (ECD) by October 26, Creation Sabbath.

Across the East-Central Africa Division 705 Adventist schools and churches have registered to participate in an initiative to plant 1 million trees. [Photo: Geoscience Research Institute]

Muinde’s original idea for a tree-planting campaign rapidly expanded into a movement in just four short months, with science teachers from every Adventist school and instructors from colleges and universities within the ECD taking the lead. So far 705 Adventist schools and churches have registered to participate. Together they established creation clubs in schools to emphasize the importance of creation. One of their key goals is to create a “Garden of Eden” in each school, alongside other initiatives to encourage environmental stewardship and care for God’s creation.

The enthusiasm surrounding the project has been so contagious that the team plans to make this an annual event. Each year, during the week leading up to Creation Sabbath, they aim to do something special to celebrate and care for God’s creation. With the tree-planting initiative on track to surpass the 1 million mark, they envision future projects that will inspire even more schools, churches, and communities to take action in preserving the environment, making Creation Sabbath a powerful yearly tradition.

Staff of the Geoscience Research Institute in California, United States, are promoting the fifteenth anniversary of Creation Sabbath, an annual celebration of God’s creative power. [Photo: Geoscience Research Institute]

According to Geoscience Research Institute leaders, Creation Sabbath is a special celebration. “It is a chance to rejoice, praise, and rest with God as we enjoy the creation He made,” they said.

They explained that the Seventh-day Adventist Church designated the fourth Sabbath in October as Creation Sabbath. The purpose of this annual celebration, leaders added, is for “acknowledging God as our Creator and the implications that this biblical teaching has for us—to create a worldwide sense of unity in promoting this belief in a positive light.” They added, “You don’t have to be a Seventh-day Adventist to celebrate. Everyone is invited to join in celebrating Creation Sabbath.”

The original version of this story was posted on the Creation Sabbath site.