Arbor Day Member Story: Emilie May

Meet Emilie. Emilie May is a 9-year old from California who has always enjoyed spending time exploring and hiking with her family and friends.

Emilie’s grandparents have been longtime members of the Arbor Day Foundation and she shares their passion for the outdoors. She even prefers reading outside when she can.

If there was one thing she could tell adults about the environment it would be, “Trees are the lungs of the Earth.  Please don’t cut them down because if you do, everyone won’t have a lot of clean air.”

Emilie is an advocate for taking care of our world today to ensure it stays a happy, healthy place we can all share tomorrow. When it comes to her own generation, Emilie says, “DO NOT LITTER, and clean up after those that do.”

Emilie’s school recently closed because of the poor air quality caused from the California fires. She has seen the destruction the wildfires have caused and the impact it has made on the local community. Emilie is wise beyond her years when it comes to the benefits of trees to our water, air quality, food source, the habitat they provide to animals, and so much more, thanks to her personal experience and her family’s love of preserving the environment. She also sees trees for the beauty they bring to our lives. Emilie’s favorite tree is the cherry blossom, “because they are very pretty when they have their flowers.”

When Emilie grows up, she wants to be a teacher. Emilie is in the third grade now, but she loved her second-grade teacher Mrs. Easley so much that she wants to be like her one day.

Even at age nine Emilie inspires others and understands the importance of trees to the world we share. She knows that you are never too young or too old to make a difference.