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In recognition of Earth Day, several members of a Jana Marie Foundation club gave a little help to the environment on April 22 by planting trees at Walnut Spring Park. To prep the site, the group held a workday on April 1. Pictured, from left, are Greg Williams, Theo Oppermann, Owen Anderson, Luke Bradbury, Ben Pelletier, J.J. Powell, Isaac Oppermann, Emily Garland and Becky Misangyi. Missing from the photo are Maya Felix, Natalie Barnstetter, Joslin Adams and Ryan Pencek.
Submitted by Jana Marie Foundation
STATE COLLEGE — This year, the young members of Jana Marie Foundation’s Reach club decided to use its community project to help the environment.
According to a press release, Reach is a club for kids in grades 6 through 12 and is focused on community service, recognizing that connection to community is an important part of mental health. On April 1, members of the club worked with Greg Williams on habitat restoration at Walnut Springs Park in State College. A retired teacher, Williams is a full-time volunteer for Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light, which runs the park project.
The students helped drag, cut and pull invasive species out of the woodsy park. The students enthusiastically worked at the park and were excited to see the difference in the section where they worked. They were scheduled to return on April 22, Earth Day, to plant trees.
“Helping at Walnut Spring Park was so fun and made me happy that we were able to make an impact on the environment,” said Maya Felix, a seventh-grade student at Park Forest Middle School. “I learned so much and would do it again in a heartbeat.”
Besides the work at the park, students also developed a list of ways of how people can help the environment.
Reach is just one of the many programs and events run by Jana Marie Foundation, which helps spark conversations, build connections, and promote mental well-being among young people and their communities. For more information on the foundation and its programs, visit janamariefoundation.org and follow the Jana Marie Foundation on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
