Local Student and Actress Donates Trees on Earth Day

If you have attended a production at the Palace Theatre in the last eight years, you more than likely had the pleasure of watching Lucy Watkins perform. She is what we like to call a triple-threat–a great actress, singer, and dancer.

But there is a lot more to Miss Watkins than just the stage.

Lucy is twelve years old and attends Nandua Middle School. This year, she, with the help of the Nandua staff, started a club called Friends of the Earth. While she was the first member, the club now has fifteen.

The goal was to plan and organize a tree planting during Earth Day Week. As the school year passed, they were on track to plant trees in various locations on the Shore. Then the coronavirus hit, and the event had to be canceled.

Anyone that knows Lucy will tell you she always has a plan B. What she decided to do was to dig up saplings, put them in containers, and then set up a stand in Exmore to give them away to other tree planters.

Her brother Kai, who is a sophomore at Broadwater, and her dad rounded up and potted thirty trees. Lucy then spent most of the week at her stand handing them out–she even spent one whole day in the rain to accomplish her goal.

The Mirror asked Lucy why she felt trees were important, “Trees are very important for life on the earth. They make oxygen and help clean the air. And other animals need them…oh, they are good for the soil too.”

“Earth Day is really important to me because we need to take care of our planet. We can make it a healthy and clean place for us, and all the other creatures that live on it,” Lucy told the Mirror.

Lucy also understands that Earth Day is not just one day and that maintaining the health of the earth needs to be part of all of our days. Lucy is always involved in school and local recycling efforts.

“I’m really excited to go back to school and start planning for next year, ” she said.

Part of that planning is trying to recruit sponsors that are will to donate time, money, or even the trees themselves. For more information, contact Nandua Middle School and ask about helping the Friends of the Earth Club.