Congratulations, David Douglas High School ESL Students!
Congratulations to David Douglas High School teacher Anne Downing and her English as a Second Language students! At the Portland Arbor Day Festival today, the City of Portland presented them with a 2013 Bill Naito Community Trees Award for generously and enthusiastically volunteering at multiple Friends of Trees neighborhood plantings each year for three years running.
“Representing such countries as Somalia, Burma, and The Congo, many come from refugee families with very limited resources,” said FOT Neighborhood Trees Specialist Andrew Land. “They have been excellent ambassadors for their cultures, who are already giving back to their new community. While they appreciate the opportunity to bond outside of the classroom, we have sincerely appreciated the service they are providing generations of Portlanders to come.”
About Friends of Trees, Downing says, “Planting trees instills confidence and pride in their community today and for many years into the future as they watch their trees grow. … What you do for the ESL students at DD is unique and makes a strong difference in their general well-being. I think this is most apparent with newcomers experiencing the first winter in Portland. The dark rainy days and confusing American life is not so discouraging when they can go and have such success at planting trees. They find out they can work together with Portlanders and make new friends. Your support of them is a big deal.”
What have some of the students said about planting trees?
Than Kyaw, from Burma: “I planted 11 trees! My trees are strong.”
Marius Ibuye, from The Congo: “This is good for my city. It is beautiful!”
Maria Hernandez, from Mexico: “Thank you Friends of Trees for trees in Portland!”
Friends of Trees is thrilled that Anne Downing and her students received the Bill Naito Community Trees Award. Clearly planting trees is a cross-cultural activity that brings people together to care for their shared community no matter what their family income might be or where they were born.
“It will be a beautiful day,” Land said, “when one among them is walking around this city with their own children and can point to a tall tree they planted as a teenager. We are so fortunate to have both newly transplanted trees and the support of David Douglas’ newly transplanted students. May they grow to thrive side by side!”