Rotary International President, H.S. Riseley, a member of the Rotary Club of Sandringham, Victoria, Australia, set as the 2017-18 presidential theme: “Rotary: Making a Difference.”

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“Environmental degradation and global climate change are serious threats to everyone,” Riseley said. “They are having a disproportionate impact on those who are most vulnerable, those to whom Rotary has the greatest responsibility. Yet environmental issues rarely register on the Rotary agenda. The time is long past when environmental sustainability can be dismissed as not Rotary’s concern. It is, and must be, everyone’s concern.

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Because trees remove carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the air, which slows global warming, the president challenged every Rotary club to make a difference by planting one tree for each of its members (1.2 million worldwide). The Rotary Club of Easton accepted this challenge; and on Friday, April 27, 2018 we planted 45 trees in the Hugh Moore Park.

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The City of Easton incorporated Rotary’s effort into their annual Tree City USA planting. The Tree City USA program is a nationwide movement that provides the framework necessary for communities to manage and expand their public trees. Easton joins more than 3,400 communities which have made the commitment to becoming a Tree City USA. To this end, Easton purchased an additional 100 trees; and the volunteers from Rotary, along with three students from Lafayette College, planted a total of 145 trees.