Teaching House is happy to offer our students access to numerous resources at our schools. But we also recognize the importance of giving back that which we take. So to offset our paper use here at the school, Teaching House is thrilled to make our 2011 donation to The Arbor Day Foundation, a charity dedicated to environmental conservation through planting, nurturing, and celebrating trees.

Imagine a world without trees. It isn't hard to see how their beauty lends to the aesthetics of earth's natural landscape, but if you take a second to think about it, a tree's purpose extends far beyond that.

Trees protect the earth from natural elements like wind, rain, and sun, preventing land erosion and regulating the natural processes of the environment. Trees provide shelter and habitats, allowing for numerous species of wildlife to flourish. They enrich and improve the permeability of the soil, facilitating the production of plants and plant-based foods.

Though they often blend into mother nature's backdrop, and we rarely give them a second thought, it is important to recognize the importance of trees in our world. That is why, in 2011, Teaching House gave the equivalent of one student's tuition to The Arbor Day Foundation, a donation that went directly to replanting trees destroyed by U.S. Forest Fires. The Arbor Day Foundation planted one tree for every dollar given.

It is our hope that, in donating to The Arbor Day Foundation, we inspire others to honor the significance of the world we live in and consider the impact we make on the environment in our daily lives.