We’re pleased to share the grand opening of a Tree Nursery at The Children’s Academy! These images show the nursery’s opening ceremony, attended by students, teachers, and parents from the school. In the spirit of Konbit, everyone pitched in by carrying a sapling from The Children’s Academy to the new nursery, just down the road.

While we’ve been distributing saplings out of The Children’s Academy for years in an effort to reforest the school community, this project is different. School leadership identified two key opportunities:

(1) Older students needed a meaningful and productive way to spend their time outside of school hours. The nursery now gives them the chance to engage in hands-on learning, contribute to environmental restoration, and earn a little income — all while building responsibility, teamwork, and pride in their community.

(2) Because of the disruption of commerce to and from the Dominican Republic due to ongoing political unrest, buyers on the wholesale market in Haiti have struggled to find the saplings they need. This new Tree Nursery will function as a Social Business, filling the market gap for wholesale saplings while generating revenue for the school.