August Organization: One Tree Planted

Something that always impressed me about Clare was how early in life she identified her passions. By her senior year of high school she already knew exactly what she wanted to do as a career: engineer more sustainable ways to live and save the environment.

As part of her Senior Project before she graduated high school, Clare built a sustainable home on the hillside in her backyard that was equipped to sustain life for almost a year. The structure quickly became known as the “hobbit hole” and was a fascinating topic of conversation during family gatherings and long runs with the cross country team. It featured a solar oven that she made cookies in, a catchment system to collect rainwater, and she had plans to add a compostable toilet as well. She worked hard on the “hobbit hole”, carving into the tough, dry dirt in her backyard, and researching every sustainable feature she could add. She continued to build out the “hobbit hole” even after her graduation, proving it wasn’t just for a grade, it was something she was passionate about.

It is shocking to see the rapid deterioration our planet has experienced in the 6 years since Clare was killed. Wildfires are unfortunately now a regular occurrence in our community in Northern California and the state as a whole. Our grandpa has been evacuated twice from his home in Santa Rosa.

To honor Clare we wanted to work with an organization that is working to better the planet and reverse some of the damage humans have caused. One Tree Planted is a Vermont based non-profit focused on restoring forests across the world. In 2020 they planted more than 10 million trees across 28 countries and plan to double that in 2021. They stood out to us because they work across many different communities across the world and when you donate through their website you can allocate your money to a specific project or region. Like I mentioned earlier, wildfires have become a more prominent issue in our community and hit literally close to home for our family and One Tree Planted is specifically working to restore forests damaged by wildfires in California and the greater west coast.

Join our fundraiser with One Tree Planted here and donate if you are interested.

$1 = 1 tree planted