Environment

Lions Clubs International has 5 global causes - In District 22W, we bring those global causes to our local communities.  Impacting the world, starts in our own backyard.

Globally "We serve to sustainably protect and restore our environment to improve the well-being of all communities.

The earth sustains human life.  We've seen how our stewardship of natural resourses can improve quality of life and increase engagement in our local communities.  Our environment is more than a background, it's our home and we're committed to caring for it. "

Locally The Maryland Liberty Tree that grew at St. John’s College, Annapolis, is important to events related to the founding of Maryland and our nation, where patriots met during the period of the American Revolution. Maryland’s Liberty Tree was the last surviving Liberty Tree of the original thirteen colonies.  Maryland’s first State Forester, Fred W. Besley, identified Maryland’s original Liberty Tree as the largest yellow poplar in the nation and listed the tree as a national big tree champion. In 1999, Hurricane Floyd destroyed the original Liberty Tree. The tree from which seed is collected today at St. John’s College is a (scion) graft from the original tree that college officials planted in the 1880s. Since 2016,  the LaVale Lions have partnered with the Allegany County Forestry Board to plant Liberty trees at patriotic ceremonies at parks, forests, and cemeteries throughout Maryland and beyond.