With the first Buffalo snow having fallen on November 11, Williamsville East’s FBLA chapter has been racing to finish their “Spruce it Up” state competition requirements. For the past three weeks, a team of students from FBLA and government classes has participated in the Re-Tree Western New York initiative. The initiative was started after the “October Storm” in 2006 when the City of Buffalo and its surrounding areas lost many of its trees which caused the beauty of the area to fade dramatically. The surprise storm’s tree devastation also led to the decrease in the value of many properties while increasing energy costs to many homes because of the lack of shade.
By participating in the initiative, East students helped to not only receive community and government service on their part, but to also benefit our downtown neighbors’ properties and public areas. The amount of tree planting that students have done has been difficult but rewarding, and students of all grades, from Sarah Liebler (sophomore) to Peter Kazmierzak (senior) participated in the weekly event.
Michelle Dao (junior) has concluded that as a result of her tree hole-digging endeavors at Forest Lawn Cemetary, she is now a qualified “grave digger” (for tree saplings!). Dao, along with the rest of the team, even added shale finder to her new set of skills, after finding a pile of shale buried in the ground of urban South Buffalo.
If you’re interested in participating in a future Re-Tree WNY event to get government hours (even if you aren’t an FBLA member), contact FBLA chapter vice president Melissa Li as soon as possible.
