Teen works with friends, town to plant 300 trees Above: East Brunswick Parks Supervisor Greg Hurley hands a seedling to Sean D'Andrea, who recently organized the planting of 300 white pines near Dallenbach Lake, off Dunhams Corner Road in East Brunswick on April 28. Below: Amy Chou and Gabrielle D'Andrea plant seedlings. EAST BRUNSWICK - Why not do something today to combat the world's problems of tomorrow? One local teenager doing his part is East Brunswick High School sophomore Sean D'Andrea, who recently organized and helped plant no fewer than 300 trees near Dallenbach Lake as his own way of helping to offset the effects of global warming. Sean, who said he came up with the project in response to reports about the dangerous effects of global warming on the planet, put together a group of about 15 friends and arranged to get 300 white pine seedlings from the state nursery. The group planted the seedlings at the lake, near Crystal Springs Aquatic Center on Dunhams Corner Road, on April 28. The effort took a little less than three hours, he said, largely because he received so much help. The teens did not have a difficult time lugging the materials around, since the trees are about 1 foot tall right now. PHOTOSBYSCOTT PILLING staff Because the area is already wooded, the trees won't make too much of an aesthetic improvement, Sean noted, but since they take in carbon dioxide, additional trees help the environment. "Carbon dioxide causes heat to stay in the atmosphere," Sean said. The trees were planted along a path that leads to the lake and through the nearby woods. They were purposely put in the empty spaces to help improve the soil in those spots. "The falling needles will help the topsoil and the rain will water the soil," he said. The forest won't be overcome with trees, Sean said, because the pitch pines grow to be only about 6 to 10 feet tall and are very thin. Sean said that as soon as he decided to do community service, he decided global warming was an area he wanted to focus on. "I'm just a hippie, a nature fanatic in general," he said. "One news report I saw had a bunch of things to do to stop global warming. One was to plant a tree, so I called a bunch of people and planted them." East Brunswick Parks Supervisor Greg Hurley was a big help with the project, Sean noted, also crediting his parents for helping to keep things organized.