428 trees…field maples, red oaks, sweet chestnuts and wild cherries

Wow, pride spreads among us. We grin at each other with satisfaction and shake the last of the soil off our hands, pants, T-shirts and shovels. Harald smiles contentedly, Heidi sleeps through this great moment in the car. Despite this incredible number.
But from the beginning:
We are budding social assistants from the HBFS 20A class in Neuwied who took part in the Rhineland-Palatinate state youth engagement competition and won. We developed, discussed and rejected many different ideas and ultimately decided how we wanted to work for the good of our community: “We put down roots – youth forges ahead!”.
The aim of our commitment was to make an active contribution to the reforestation of a section of forest that was completely destroyed by the bark beetle last year.
For two days from 9 am to 3 pm, we removed the top layer of humus, dug holes with our spades, removed stubborn roots and blackberry hedges, knelt in the soil, carefully planted the tree seedlings and filled the holes with soil. To protect the delicate branches, a plant guard had to be attached around each individual plant. But take a look at the pictures for yourself.

Perhaps you now feel like getting stuck in and not just talking all the time. Then get in touch with us. We will be happy to put you in touch with Harald, the forester responsible in Dierdorf. He was happy to see that young people see the problems of our time and are tackling them. He explains that this is now also “… our forest and we can watch it grow.”
As a class, we not only found it very satisfying to do something important and meaningful, but also to finally be able to do something together, laugh, eat pizza and feel the sun on our faces all day.
Of course, we also got to know the older dog Heidi, who was always keeping an eye on us.
The HBFS 20A and Mrs. Holle