Tyrone NHS Plants Trees at Flight 93 Memorial on Earth Day
Seventeen students from the Tyrone National Honor Society (NHS) traveled to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County on Earth Day to plant trees in honor of the 44 passengers and crew members who were aboard Flight 93 during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
At the event, students worked alongside members of the Friends of Flight 93 Foundation to plant approximately 14,000 seedlings over twenty acres at the memorial.
“Although this wasn’t my first time working alongside the Friends of Flight 93 to plant trees at the memorial, I had lots of fun planting the trees. It was nice knowing that we were honoring all the passengers and crew members who died but doing such a simple task,” said Tyrone junior NHS member Hailey Vanish.
(Photo illustration courtesy of the National Park Service)
Established in 2009, the Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial is the official nonprofit partner of Flight 93 National Memorial.
The organization’s mission is to inform, honor and pay tribute to the heroes of Flight 93 by supporting the Memorial with volunteers and resources to focus on awareness, education, volunteer support, preservation, and stewardship.
The Plant a Tree at Flight 93 began in 2012 when the National Park Service, Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial, and the National Park Foundation partnered together to complete a reforestation project that will soon result in 150,000 native trees planted at Flight 93 National Memorial.
This conservation project reclaims the former surface mine with native trees to re-establish wildlife habitats, create essential windbreaks and complete the healing of the memorial landscape.
Since 2012 more than 3,000 volunteers have planted 129,918 native tree seedlings across 167 acres at Flight 93 National Memorial. This year, nearly 200 volunteers will help plant approximately 7,000 seedlings over ten acres.
Although this year will be the conclusion of Plant a Tree at Flight 93, the original design intent by Architect Paul Murdoch has been achieved at the memorial.
Flight 93 National Memorial hopes to continue bringing volunteers to the memorial in the years following the conclusion of the reforestation project.
The Tyrone students who participated in this service project are Hailey Vanish, Emma Reese, Hayley Morrissey, Elizabeth Fryer, Katelyn Adams, Kenneth Sorokie, Sarah Christofer, Grace Peterson, Randi Williams, Kiara Rhoads, Remington Weaver, Lydia Seltzer, Emily Davis, Rachel Stricek, Jillian Williams, Jaden Williams, Isaiah Carney
Hailey Vanish is in her fourth and final year as a member of Tyrone Eagle Eye Newspaper. As she enters her senior year, she hopes to write more stories...
