A path encircling Harlandale: this San Antonio-area youth group plants an investment in the future. (Earthkeepers).

In 1996 when the Rev. Dr. Allan F. Cope began his appointment at Trinity Lutheran Church in Harlandale, Texas, be found a community badly in need of loving care. The inner-city San Antonio community was grappling with a transient population, a crumbling infrastructure, and high rates of crime and student dropout.

With a limited budget but unlimited ideas and enthusiasm, Cope approached Juvenile Outreach and Vocational/Educational Network (JOVEN), a 501(c)3 outreach organization for local at-risk youth. Cope, who now sits on the JOVEN's Board, recalls, "I wanted to help make the community come to life. I was looking at the positive aspects of the community, hoping to build them by developing quality leadership in students."

From that conversation the seeds were planted for PATH (Partnerships in Action Throughout Harlandale), an organization of mostly middle school and high school students whose mission is to redevelop and beautify their surroundings. Along with helping the elderly repair their homes, cleaning local streams, and compiling a community resources directory, PATH students plant trees and shrubs all over Harlandale. Since PATH began, crime and school dropout rates in Harlandale have dropped. Families are buying homes and planting trees in their yards and along the streets.

"Planting trees," Cope explains, "is a way of making a long-term investment in the community."

It's an educational investment. Students attend mandatory training sessions before they can plant frees, and leaders and students visit state parks to learn about trees and the tree-planting process.

PATH has cultivated regular partnerships with local organizations including the National Park Service (NPS). Several local nurseries donate trees, and local businesses offer help and money. Community members are regular volunteers. The city arborist helps with planting and tree care.

One of the organization's most ambitious projects will take place in May at Harlandale's Bellaire Park, an undeveloped area where parents burn their headlights so children can play after dark. PATH students will help install picnic tables, basketball courts, walking trails, and other park amenities. They are deeply involved in the overall planning and development.

"PATH helps bring the leadership skills out of students, says project director Sara Phippen. PATH students develop those skills in myriad ways: planning, preparing, and presenting projects to potential funders; public speaking; writing articles for local newspapers; and attending meetings. Developing related skills and taking on meaningful responsibilities encourages students to thrive outside of PATH.

The hundreds of PATH participants arrive from many avenues. Members recruit friends and acquaintances; students learn about the group from school environmental and science clubs or in-school PATH leadership classes. Others use it as a way to fulfill community service requirements. Many stay connected after they graduate, returning to train others, serve on the advisory committee, offer mentoring services or start their own groups.

Former director Armando Cortez believes, "If you focus on one community, you can really see results." Thanks to PATH, trees and flowers are not the only things that are blossoming in Harlandale.

CJ Lockman Hall is a freelance writer based in Rockville, Maryland.