October Hill plants for tigers. (Clippings).

AMERICAN FORESTS' Trees for Tigers campaign got a boost recently with a $10,000 donation from the October Hill Foundation in Connecticut. The money will be used to plant Korean pine, a native species that produces nuts eaten by tiger prey in the forests of the Russian Far East. The nuts are also gathered as food by local villagers, who assist the Russian forest service with the planting of the trees.

October Hill, a small family foundation, focuses on projects that are outside the borders of the United States. It frowns on solicitations, instead selecting AMERICAN FORESTS because it was familiar with the nonprofit through the foundation's tree-planting activities in its own community.

There are so many places outside the U.S. that are desperate for help, says chairman Gretchen Bauta. She targets environmental causes for her foundation's support, everything from monarch butterflies in Mexico to women's groups in Africa to tigers in Siberia. And, Bauta says she is particularly interested in trees, citing a seedling distribution at local elementary schools, which she has sponsored for 16 years.