Cultivating More Green Fervor

Less than a month after completing a four-year national campaign to get 1 million youths to plant 1 million trees, the teenagers at the El Segundo nonprofit Tree Musketeers are already looking to break their record.

On Friday the youth-run environmental group kicked off its second national campaign by planting a tree on a strip of grass just south of Los Angeles International Airport on Imperial Highway; it was the same spot where the organization planted its first tree 13 years ago.

This time the goal is to have 2 million youths plant 1 million groves of trees.

As 14-year-old Tree Musketeer President Angelica Roque calmly organized volunteers of all ages, she stressed that children should take responsibility for their own futures.

“We didn’t want to waste the momentum from the four-year ‘One in a Million’ campaign, so we just decided to start right away,” she added.

Tree Musketeers was founded in 1987 by a group of El Segundo third-graders and was one of the nation’s first youth-run environmental groups. Its first president, Tara Church, turned over the group to younger leaders when she turned 19.

The group has been honored by three presidents and recognized by the United Nations and it is a partner in Gen. Colin Powell’s America’s Promise youth alliance.

Through their partner organizations, such as Kids for a Clean Environment in Tennessee, the Musketeers work to stimulate children’s leadership skills and interest in the environment through the planting and tending of trees.

“We don’t give them the materials. They have to get them on their own, but we help them know where to go,” Roque said.

The youths and their adult mentors are encouraged to report to Musketeers so their trees can be counted. The organization believes its approach makes the most of a small staff and encourages youths to take the initiative.

Roque said getting environmental groups to buy into the emphasis on youth leadership is not always easy.

“A lot of people really want kids involved in stuff, and it’s good publicity, but they aren’t sure they want kids involved in organizing the activities,” Roque said.

Patricia Garamendi, a deputy administrator at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which along with the National Tree Trust has been a strong Musketeers supporter, says the organization is special because of the power it gives youths.

“We’ve partnered with many different organizations,” said Garamendi, “but the Tree Musketeers was really unique because it’s reaching so many children . . . because it’s youth-run, and because it has been sustained over a long period of time.”

While teenagers organize and run the group’s activities, they have delegated the financial responsibilities to their adult executive director.

But even in Tree Musketeers, adults are tempted to meddle. One adult member had to restrain herself from instructing children on how to move a sapling. With the assistance of a tree expert, the youths ultimately did it on their own.

The adult sighed, and then laughed, embarrassed at her momentary lapse of confidence.

Bill Nye, known as the “Science Guy” in his syndicated children’s television show, came out Friday to lend his support to the Musketeers. “With so many millions of acres being destroyed, you could say, ‘What does it matter? The equivalent of what these kids are planting will probably go in a week,” Nye said. “But these kids are donating their time, and they are an inspiration to others. This is a start. This is vital. This is life.”