Anna D

During the FFA’s 3rd annual tree drive, paper leaves with the names of donators hung outside the main office.

The Normal FFA’s third annual tree drive raised $465, allowing the organization to plant 93 trees across Mclean County as part of the Ecology Action Center’s 10,000 tree-planting initiative.

After planting 662 trees in Bloomington Normal over the last two years, FFA sponsor Mrs. Liz Harris said, the student’s goal this year was to plant 350 on Earth Day–April 22.

The organization fell short of its $1750 goal, as each $5 donation allows one tree to be planted. 

Members of the FFA solicited donations during lunch hours from students and staff, and fundraised in the community through online marketing and Venmo contributions.

Since the FFA Leadership Team first partnered with the Ecology Action Center during the COVID-19 pandemic, Community has contributed over $3300 to the non-profit. 

With community outreach and volunteer opportunities limited in 2021, FFA alum Madeline Hubble (’21) realized the Ecology Action Center’s annual tree drive was an opportunity for students to make a difference from inside their homes.

“A lot of [the] places that students would traditionally go and volunteer at weren’t accepting people in at that time because of COVID restrictions,” Harris said. “So we started the tree drive to really create a way that any student… could make a difference in our community.”

The students’ stewardship comes full circle–after organizing sales, raising money and volunteering to plant trees across the county for the past two years, Normal Community High School is one of the six planting locations this year.

Harris is excited for the younger generation of FFA members to see the impact of their actions at the school.

“We’re less engaged in making our communities better than we ever have been,” Harris said. “We are in a disconnected world, where we go to school, we go home, we go to work. Reconnecting people to their community is really important for me. I try to teach that [to] the students we have here.”

While the pandemic restrictions have lifted, Peter Metivier, a sophomore during the FFA’s first tree drive, see the benefit of continuing the partnership with the EAC. 

“It’s been a great way for us to stay connected with our community through our environment,” Metivier said.

While community engagement is a root of the project, the initiative’s true benefits are environmental. 

The annual drive offers an affordable way to improve Mclean County’s air quality.

The county, according to the Ecology Action Center, “is close to exceeding National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone, a … pollutant that contributes to asthma and other respiratory diseases.”

This project, Metivier said, has taught him more than just how to plant a seedling. He’s learned that even small actions can add up to make a large difference.

“Even though we’re high schoolers, we still can have big impacts,” Metivier said, “and it’s not like we have to make our own impact alone.”

The FFA continues to accept donations on Normal FFA’s donation page or through @NormalFFA on Venmo.