—About 10 minutes by bike.

—Wendy and I       .

She is   English.

—Once a week.

—Yes. One of her friends often        her        her English after school.

Today it is dusty outside. The wind is whipping (拍打) at the earth and sending clouds of brown dirt all around the town.

I sit here on the doorstep and watch people come back from work.

Finally, I see Grandma carrying her basket. She is covered in dust and looks tired, but she smiles when she sees me. "What are you up to, Kemzie?" she asks.

"Waiting for you! I say. "I want you to come and help me plant trees. " "Trees?" asks Grandma.

I tell Grandma that someone came to speak to us at school today about tree planting. I tell her I want to help out in the nursery(苗圃) just out of town where they grow the trees.

"We need the trees to give us wood, shade and fruit, and to help keep the Earth well," I say quickly.

Grandma laughs and puts her basket down. "You go if you want, but I have to make dinner," she says.

For a moment I feel bad. I shouldn't leave Grandma now. I should help her chop wood for the fire and cook the food she got at the market. Since Mum and Dad died, Grandma has been looking after all our family. It's hard work for her.

I see the nursery (苗圃). It is like a sea of green. There are trees of all kinds, and a huge vegetable garden. I step inside the gate. It is quiet here, and it smells so good.

A voice says, "Hello! I saw you at school today." I whip around to see the person who came to talk to me. She came to talk to my class today.

"Welcome," she says, holds out (伸出) her hand. "I am Makena."

"I'm Kemzie," I say.

At the back of the nursery, people are putting small trees into bags. One of them is my friend, Anne. We help put the trees on the back of a truck.

Makena comes and gives us some drinks and bananas. We sit down.

"When I first come here," says Makena, "there is nothing, just dirt (泥土). We make a dam (大坝) and there's a lot of water now, then we make a small nursery and grow our first trees. "

Makena says again. "Years ago, this country is very green. But people start to cut down trees to make way for farms, and soon it becomes a dry, dusty (有灰尘的) place. People don't understand how much we need the trees. "