Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of Nassau County, in cooperation with Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg, Nassau County Dept. of Public Works Commissioner Raymond Ribeiro, the United States Department of Agriculture, and other partners who represent the business community, environmental groups, and community organizations have come together to initiate an environmental project to benefit all of Nassau County.

The multi-year project will begin with distributing 56 shade trees, one for each Nassau school district, and will launch an environmental education effort to raise students' awareness of the importance of trees in reducing air pollution, saving energy and other important environmental benefits. The ten-foot shade trees are ideal for planting as part of Greening of Nassau, Earth Day, and Arbor Day celebrations in April.

In addition to the planting of a tree, this partnership will provide appropriate instructional materials for developing students' understanding of these issues. A plan will soon be forwarded to all Nassau superintendents requesting their participation.

The Greening of Nassau Project tree planting is an initial effort of the partnership focused on connecting with public school groups or clubs interested in promoting environmental issues. Steering committee community members additionally include the League of Women Voters of Southwest Nassau, Plant Health Care, Inc., the Sierra Club, USDA Forest Service, New York ReLeaf-DEC, and Nassau BOCES Outdoor and Environmental Education Program.

For further information, contact Robert Sympson, CCE Vice President at rsympson@optonline.net