🌱 Rooting for the Future: How VT Seva Maryland Shattered Earth Day Goals with 190 New Trees

samathamdvtseva
6 days ago
2 min read

Updated: 6 days ago

🌱 190 Trees, Zero Excuses: How VT Seva Maryland Smashed Earth Day Goals!

Earth Day 2026 was more than just a date on the calendar for VT Seva Maryland, it was a weekend of action, community, and growth.

While the VT Seva National Earth Day Project set an ambitious goal to plant 2,026 trees across all chapters for 2026, our Maryland team was determined to go above and beyond. We originally committed to 150 trees, but we were honored to receive 190 Fraser Fir saplings from the Neighborhood Forest Team on April 22nd.

Putting Down Roots

Over a hardworking weekend between April 25th and April 26th, our volunteers traded their usual routines for shovels and soil. It was a massive effort spread across two beautiful locations:

Landsdale Community (Monrovia, MD): 170 trees planted in collaboration with the Landsdale HOA.
Lake Linganore (Woodridge Community): 20 trees planted to help expand the local canopy.

It Takes a Village

This green milestone was truly a team effort, made possible by our incredible community partners. We followed expert planting techniques shared by Michael Holland (BrightView Landscape Services), spacing each tree 11 to 12 feet apart to ensure long-term health.

Special thanks to Melanie Mullaney (Landsdale HOA) for the logistical support, including the orange flags to protect our saplings from mowers, and Paula from Landsdale for her guidance during the planning stages. At Lake Linganore, we are grateful to Colton Brady and Sam Hunter for their support.

Leadership and Spirit

A special shout-out goes to our Adult Lead Coordinator, Arti Ji, whose unwavering dedication kept the project on track. We also thank Sandhya ji and Pratibha ji for coordinating our volunteers and leading the successful planting at the Woodridge Community.

🌟 Our Volunteer Champions

The heart of this project was our dedicated team. We are incredibly proud of every individual who showed up to make Maryland greener.

Student Volunteers:

Taara Vasudevan, Mridula Vasudevan, Sanjay Guda, Inika Keranahalli, Misha Nabeel, Aarush Srivasta, Nayan Chintalapati, Abhinav Komperla, Tejasvi Divi, Manasvi Divi, Akanksha Subramaniam, Sana Shenoy, Joanne Kim, Hyela Djoko, Chiddharthan Karunanithi, Pradyun Peddi, Brayden Wang, Adrith Kalluri, Divya Putthana, Rohan Putthana, Anwesha Parida, Eshaan Konala, Radhika Raghavendra, Shreevidya Raghavendra, Sameer Khan, Chetan Sai Kankanala, Ishitha Taritla, Abhinav Taritla, Vihaan Krishnan, Ishaan Krishnan, Adithiya Venkatakrishnan, Bhargav Srivasta, Azad Khan, and Nylah Taylor.

Adult Volunteers:

Vasudevan Akkoor, Sobana Vasudevan, Ravindhar Guda, Shwetha Sannenalli, Sindhu, Prashamsa Muppavaram, Siressha Gadiraju, Rajitha Mukkapally, Ramesh Chandra Aditya Komperla, Swetha Laggishetty, Murali Divi, Subramaniam Chidambaram, Srinivasa Putthana, Deepa Parida, Aparna Hemchandra, Raghavendra Padmanabhan, Arti Bhatt, Sandhya Kakani, Pratibha Rani Pammi, Shashikanth Peddi, and Rahsaan Taylor.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/37f5a0_00ac8b24562c4a78b6472c9d0a89988d/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

As these 190 Fraser Firs take root, they stand as a living testament to what we can achieve when a community grows together.

💧 The Work Continues: Beyond the Planting

Our job doesn’t stop once the last shovel of dirt is in place! To ensure these 190 Fraser Firs thrive and reach their full potential, our dedicated crew is now moving into the maintenance phase. Following the expert guidance of our landscapers, our team will be actively monitoring and maintaining the trees throughout the summer. Planting is just the beginning, care is what makes them grow!

VT Seva