There I'm happy, I'm planting trees -

Oh hallelujah, nature is more beautiful!

- so goes the song.

Today we hosted a konbit, or work day, to plant trees on a nearby mountaintop called Three Ravines. Mountaintop-planting is one of MCC Dezam's priorities for the year, and this konbit also gave our 4th- and 5th-grade "Environmental Agents" the chance to participate.

The kids marched through the center of Dezam carrying trees and singing before we hopped in big trucks and headed up the mountain:

I also think this kid in his sneakers is
adorable. He totally deserves to be line leader.

We parked the trucks and loaded up with cases of seedlings to continue upward on foot. There's no photographic documentation, but both Bryan and I carried cases Haitian-style. It's both easier and more tiring than it looks:

Most cases hold 96 trees, and we carried up about 65 of them.

Not even an official Agent, this kid was amazing:

He lives near where we parked the trucks, tagged along, and
was a tree-mendous help. (Ah, the pun was just too easy!)

A truly amazing Agent, Silmique can heft the heaviest loads without complaint:

This was him taking a break.

Several local officials and two community nursery committees helped organize the konbit:

These folks worked so quickly we could hardly get trees
in the newly-dug holes fast enough.

We headed back down the mountain for lunch:

In many community konbits, people work in exchange for a meal (the same way that North Americans are obligated to buy pizza for friends who help them move). What a beautiful valley it is, and how tree-filled it will one day be.