Students from across the 19 Adventist primary and secondary schools in the North Mexican Union of the Adventist Church took part recently in a week-long campaign to plant 400 trees in parks and communities.

The initiative, coined as “Planting Hope,” was part of a series of activities that engaged students, teachers, principals, and parents in the planting of hundreds of trees, which will provide shade and grow fruit and colorful flowers in green areas and public spaces where schools are located, organizers said.

“We wanted to take part in reaffirming the vision and commitment of the Adventist educational system in the North Mexican Union to educate the new generations in the preservation and care of the environment,” Enrique Dzul, academic vice president of the Adventist school system in the North Mexican Union Conference, said. It was the first time the Adventist educational system has organized coordinated efforts in reforestation across Mexico’s northern region.

Before planting the trees, about 700 students took part in cleaning and restoration in green areas and schools surrounding public spaces, Dzul said. The initiative was part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the Inter-American Division’s organization in 1922, he added.

Many schools took a full day of cleaning and planting, while others took several days to engage the students and their families in the reforestation projects.

“Each school appointed a special committee to organize and coordinate each activity, following specific guidelines to implement and carry out the activity,” Dzul said. “Through this important activity, we endorse the commitment to preserve and take care of the environment, and our students enjoyed an excellent opportunity to serve and testify in their communities,” he explained.

As part of the initiative, students distributed Adventist literature and prayed with people.

The Adventist educational system in the North Mexican Union oversees 34 schools at the preschool, primary, and secondary levels.

The original version of this story was posted on the Inter-American Division news site.