The After School Activity ‘Roots & Shoots’ continues to raise funds for the Million Tree Project

Roots & Shoots (R&S) was founded by Dr. Jane Goodall in 1991, with the goal of bringing together youth from preschool to university age to work on environmental, conservation and humanitarian issues. Today, the organization has local chapters in over 140 countries—one of which is located on the Copenhagen International School’s campus.

Roots & Shoots is an After School Activity at CIS that has dozens of primary school student members.  Though young and small, these students are working hard to bring big, positive change to the world around them.

Initially, the CIS R&S students learned the importance of the 3 R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle) for the health of our planet. They’ve raised awareness of the 3 R’s both at school and at home, creating informative posters and sharing eco-friendly news at the weekly primary assemblies. In the spring, they planted a small vegetable garden in the greenhouse of the Early Years Tower, and spearheaded CIS’s participation in Denmark’s annual Litter Collection Week (“Affaldsindsamling”), sponsored by Denmark’s Nature Protection Association.

Yet the accomplishment that brings the most pride to the CIS R&S Team results from their tireless efforts to promote the planting of more trees.  In fact, through their fundraising efforts, CIS has now sponsored three 1000-tree forests in Inner Mongolia through the Shanghai Roots & Shoots initiative.

This initiative aims to improve the effects of climate change and over-farming in Inner Mongolia, by reforesting areas that have been destroyed by land exploitation and sandstorms. The Shanghai Roots & Shoots organization hopes (as displayed on their website) that their Million Tree Project will not only “reforest the area in order to revitalize the land and block the sandstorms,” but will also raise community awareness of the Earth’s precious environment.”

The students involved in the CIS chapter of R&S are thrilled they’re able to actively help this cause.