LOS ANGELES COUNTY : Malibu Students Plant Trees at South-Central School
Malibu teen-agers returned a favor Thursday and revitalized a friendship forged in disasters that struck two diverse communities in Los Angeles County.
The Malibu students helped plant eight giant trees at a school in riot-scarred South-Central Los Angeles as a gesture of thanks for the help of Edison Middle School students last fall in restoring greenery in the wildfire-ravaged coastal community.
“It grew new roots in the hills and it grew new roots of friendship here,” said Joseph Santana, the principal at Edison.
After disastrous fires engulfed hundreds of homes and denuded Malibu hillsides last fall, 70 youngsters from Edison showed up to help plant shrubs and trees. Twenty Malibu High School students arrived Thursday at Edison.
In addition to making new friends, students from the two communities had an opportunity to share their experiences in dealing with riots, fires and earthquakes.
“It’s incredible to see the kids reunite. They know they are doing something important here, something bigger than all of them,” said Andy Lipkis, whose nonprofit TreePeople organization participated in the tree planting.
More to Read
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
