New Year, New Saplings: 5 Tree Projects You Can Do

By Laura McNamara | January 3, 2011 at 2:01 pm

The New Year brings new beginnings, new life – concepts often symbolized by the tree. To celebrate the New Year and prepare for upcoming Arbor Day celebrations, we have compiled a list of ways for active members to get involved with reforestation and other tree-related projects. Officially, National Arbor Day is recognized on the third Friday of April. Yet, states like Florida and Louisiana begin celebrating Arbor Day as early as the third Friday of January (Jan. 21).

Tree-Nation: The largest social network on the internet that allows visitors to plant a tree “virtually.” Make your contribution to plant a tree on a virtual map and representatives from Tree-Nation will plant a real tree in the location selected. Track your tree with GPS technology through tree blogs that enable you to communicate with recipients as well as other tree donors. The goal of Tree-Nation is to use reforestation as a means for combating poverty, desertification, deforestation and climate change. Currently, projects are focused in Niger and Nigeria.

Mvule Project: Plant a Mvule tree in Uganda for just $20. The Mvule project plants up to 250 trees per village, teaching members of the local community how to value and care for their trees. The current Mvule tree population is struggling due to rampant depletion that began during European colonization. The goal of the project is to create more economic opportunity for East Africa.

Eden Reforestation Project: Recreating healthy forest systems to promote hope, fight poverty, empower communities and develop local economies in impoverished regions. The Eden Reforestation project identifies a worldwide need to generate 8.5 billion annually to plant 30 billion trees per year per the World Bank mandate identified in 2002.

Tree City USA: Sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service, Tree City USA helps develop, direct and promote urban community forestry programs throughout the United States. The program encourages communities to show pride in their home by becoming a Tree City.

You can purchase trees through the Arbor Day Foundation and even customize your own label and purchase trees as gifts, making a contribution that lasts for generations.