Eighteen students from the Tyrone National Honor Society (NHS) will travel to the Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County on Earth Day this Friday to plant trees in honor of the 44 passengers and crew members who were aboard Flight 93 during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

“My family has been a part of the Friends of Flight 93 Foundation for several years now and I felt that it would be a nice community service project for NHS. Plus, it’s a meaningful way to honor those who died on Flight 93,” said NHS advisor and Tyrone business teacher Amanda Burega.

Tyrone students will work alongside members of the Friends of Flight 93 Foundation on Friday, April 22 to plant approximately 14,000 seedlings over twenty acres at the memorial.

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 participating 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 Dale, Emily Davis, Rachel Stricek, Jillian Williams, Jaden Williams, Isaiah Carney