Partners for a greener world.

PARTNERS FOR A GREENER WORLD

The American Forestry Association is very proud to have the Davey Tree Expert Company as a national partner. As our Global ReLeaf campaign gathers momentum, we are coming to depend more and more on a wide variety of partner organizations, all of which do astonishing things.

When we talk about Big Trees, we think about the ponderous specimens listed and pictured in AFA's National Register, which after 50 years is now reaching full maturity, thanks to Davey Tree's generous nurturing. But let's talk about Big Trees from another standpoint.

In our Global ReLeaf program we are asking the American people to plant trees by the millions - particularly in communities, where those trees can provide sorely needed energy conservation and shading, and improve the overall well-being of citizens. There is a striking difference between these planting-size saplings and those regal old National Champions. The latter grew to be the largest of their kind almost entirely by chance - for each, the original seed happened to sprout in fertile ground, and conditions throughout the tree's life just luckily were ideal.

The young trees we plant through Global ReLeaf today are going into the ground by choice and with a plan in mind for their future - and for their enormous potential to improve the human condition.

In these days of global warming and galloping air and water pollution, we need trees both old and young. Both speak about our own future, and our potential.

The Davey Tree Expert Company is pleased to announce its sponsorship of the American Forestry Association's National Register of Big Trees program and our support as a national partner in AFA's Global ReLeaf campaign.

The Big Trees Register is unique in its ability to capture the imagination and sensibilities of the American public regarding the importance of protecting and caring for our country's trees.

And it is fitting that our two organizations join together in this project. We both were formed in the late 1800s by naturalists who were dedicated to the preservation of trees, and today our commitments to those original purposes are as strong as our founders' - and probably more relevant.

We at Davey have been committed to tree care for over 88 years, and we hope that our support of AFA's programs will help tree and forestry conservation in a significant way.

PHOTO : NEIL SAMPSON is Executive Vice President of the American Forestry Association, Washington, DC.

PHOTO : DOUGLAS COWAN is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Davey Tree Expert Company of Kent, Ohio.