Students in our high school participated in a forestation project between Oroville, New York City and the Dominican Republic, sponsored by the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs of the US State Department and administered by iEARN-USA. We studied forestation issues in the three communities and exchange ideas online. Our teacher and students went on several several exchange visits to the Dominican Republic and New York City and we hosted students from the Dominican Republic in our school and community. We all stayed with host families, learned about each other's cultures and gained language skills as well. Together we shared our experiences at the annual YouthCaN event in New York City , and we created several videos of our exchange. The project enabled us to strengthen our science curriculum with new tree measurement and other tools. We also planted trees in New York City as part of the Million Tree Campaign and help plant flowers and shrubs in Riverside Park in Manhattan.

Our students have a much better appreciation of the issue of deforestation and the need to re-forest both urban and rural parts of our countries. Just as importantly, they have an appreciation of Dominican culture, having spent amazing time in homes, schools and communities.

Testimonial from iEARN Teachers at Oroville Middle and High School in Oroville, WA