The Editor,

Re: "Roses and rotten tomatoes," the Now, Dec. 13.

There has been a misunderstanding.

I quote directly from the paper: "A recycling truck full of rotten tomatoes to the youth who are desecrating beautiful holly trees in Royal Kwantlen Park. They have made a muddy mess cutting down blackberry bushes and all these beautiful holly trees. Who would authorize such an activity? And when is Surrey parks going to pick up the mess?"

As a student from Kwantlen Park Secondary and a participant from the group of "youth who are desecrating," I feel you should hear our story.

First, everything we do is approved by the City of Surrey. We do not go around cutting down the bushes for the fun of it - the blackberry bushes and holly trees are invasive species. These species are choking out native species.

This problem was recognized by a few of our classmates last year, and a club was started to help fight the problem. The name of the club is Eco Club, and we have been taking trips every Friday that the weather is nice to take out the invasive species.

If this has just been noticed now, it is because we are finally beginning to make a difference in the ecosystem. We are a group of locally aware students who are just trying to make an environmentally-friendly impact.

So perhaps an apology is in order because there are about 20 students who participate in this activity, excluding me.

P.S. I love your newspaper. It is so local and awesome!

Aneet Malhi, Surrey