Ten years and counting.When it comes to tree planting, stone soup
When we launched our Global ReLeaf tree planting campaign 10 years ago, it was really more about people than trees. The impact people have had on our planet has left a dramatic need for ecosystem restoration Humans depend greatly on ecosystem services. These services vary greatly and include such things as erosion control, water and air purification, food, recreation, a list that could go on endlessly. . To make the most of the benefits trees provide, we need to make sure we put the right ones in the right places for the right reasons. And then we need to take care of them. People can do this alone, of course, but just as in the children's "stone soup" story - where a community started with a stone and, with everyone's contribution, ended up with a delicious soup - people working in partnership can do more with less and do it better. In fact, it's the partnerships we have seen develop through Global ReLeaf that have made the program a success. Nonprofits across the globe formed under the Global ReLeaf banner - from Friends of Trees in Portland to the Independent Ecological Center in Hungary - or received much-needed support at a critical time - for example, Trees for Africa and Trees Atlanta Trees Atlanta is a non-profit organization in Atlanta, Georgia, United States that seeks to preserve and protect the city's trees. The group employs a full-time staff of tree-care professionals and maintains an extensive network of volunteers, who work together to enrich the city's . Our stone soup recipe has three key ingredients: nonprofits, government, and business. We've been amazed by the tremendous growth in the nonprofit sector in answer to Global ReLeaf's call to action. Governments, too, have responded to the Global ReLeaf call. Ten years ago the chief of the Forest Service helped AMERICAN FORESTS American Forests is a nonprofit conservation organization that promotes healthy forests and urban tree planting. The organization was established in 1875 as the American Forestry Association, by physician/horticulturist John Aston Warder and a group of like-minded citizens plant the very first Global ReLeaf tree on Pennsylvania Avenue Pennsylvania Avenue is a street in Washington, D.C. joining the White House and the United States Capitol. Called "America's Main Street," it is the location of official parades and processions, as well as protest marches and civilian protests. in Washington, DC. Today Chief Mike Dombeck has dedicated the agency to ecosystem restoration to protect watersheds on national forest land and to provide needed technical and financial assistance to America's urban forests. Many state agencies have launched "releaf" efforts to assist the people they serve in understanding and improving local forests. The third ingredient in our stone soup partnership is a critical one: the business sector. More than 200 businesses and corporations have contributed financial and people power, from Davey Tree, Gallo Winery, and Texaco in the early days to Eddie Bauer Eddie Bauer (NASDAQ: EBHI) is a clothing store chain. Headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, and a subsidiary of Eddie Bauer Holdings (formerly Spiegel, Inc.), the company was founded in Seattle in 1920 as "Eddie Bauer's Sport Shop" by its namesake, Eddie Bauer (1899 – , Deer Park Deer Park. 1 Uninc. village (1990 pop. 28,840), Babylon town, Suffolk co., SE N.Y., a primarily residential suburb on Long Island. 2 City (1990 pop. 27,652), Harris co., SE Tex. Spring Water, and Mobil today. Many more have directly supported local ReLeaf efforts with much-needed resources. This array of partners may sound like strange bedfellows, but as the great legislator Tip O'Neill used to say about politics, all environmental improvement is local. And no one is absolved from doing his or her share. This issue of American Forests looks at some unique partnerships for ecosystem restoration. In Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The city of Roanoke is adjacent to the city of Salem and the town of Vinton and is otherwise surrounded by, but politically separate from, Roanoke County. , business and civic leaders have joined with planners and the state division of forestry to form the Roanoke Valley The Roanoke Valley in southwest Virginia is an area adjacent to and including the Roanoke River between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the east and the Appalachian Plateau to the west. Urban Forest Council. They're accessing the changes in tree canopy cover using AMERICAN FORESTS' CITYgreen software, then using that information to estimate values lost and design ways to bring back the green. Ecosystem-restoring partnerships have also sprouted in the small rural communities that have undergone tremendous ecological, economic, and social change in this era of reduced timber harvest. In our new "Communities" department we spotlight all-party monitoring, the feedback link that, it is hoped, will ensure that we learn from these new ecosystem management activities. Also in this issue, Pulitzer prize-winning writer William Dietrich looks at the rich ecosystem of the northwest Puget Sound Puget Sound (py  `jĕt), arm of the Pacific Ocean, NW Wash., connected with the Pacific by Juan de Fuca Strait, entered through the Admiralty Inlet and extending in two arms c. area and points the way toward preserving the foundation of society and the quality of life in a land of water, light, and woods. Yes, partnerships for ecosystem restoration is a "stone soup" recipe with what have been called strange bedfellows. But as we have found through 10 years of Global ReLeaf, when we all live together in the same ecosystem, there should be no strangers. |
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