“A Girl, Her Tree and The Swing” is a book that focuses on how Hurricane Helene impacted tree health in North Carolina.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A group of sixth graders in the Charlotte area is taking problem-solving to a new level, and it includes working with other students who felt the impacts of Hurricane Helene six months ago to tell a story about tree health.
These students are part of Team Roots and Rescue, which is part of the Community Problem Solving program under the Future Problem Solving umbrella. This year, they studied the impact Helene had in the region, particularly how many trees fell locally in Charlotte. It inspired them to write the children’s book.
“We all love trees! We’ve all had that one tree we’ve climbed on when we were a kid or loved watching,” said Isabel Lenihan, one of the students on the team. “And some of those trees just fall out of nowhere, even healthy trees, which is really unexpected.”
During the research phase, the team interviewed an arborist in Charlotte about ways to keep your trees healthy. She explained to them that often the best way to educate adults is through children.
“A Girl, Her Tree and The Swing” was born from that.
Then, the students visited with students from schools in the Valle Crucis and Blowing Rock communities to discuss their experiences during Helene.
Ashley Hall is the coach for Team Roots and Rescue and one of the students’ mothers. She explained how different the approach was between the kids and adults in the mountains.
“The children were so forthcoming and were willing to describe all of their feelings: frustration, anger, sadness; whereas adults have been more reserved,” she said.
Now that the book is written, it has been distributed to six schools across western North Carolina. The team hopes to raise more money, print more copies, and expand this to more schools. The team said that this way, they have an impact on as many people as possible.
“A lot of people were impacted by this, and I would say some people had traumatizing events, but I would also say good days still come after that,” Lenihan reflects.
Hall told WCNC Charlotte that Team Roots and Rescue will now compete at the state level with this project. If they make it past state, there’s even an international competition. It’s all about who has the biggest positive impact on their community.
Team Roots and Rescue is also still raising money to print more books. If you are interested in donating, find their GoFundMe here.
Contact Brittany Van Voorhees at bvanvoorhe@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
