Kids "Think Trees"

think%20trees.jpg Recently we pointed out the benefits of planting a tree with a child, and it seems like the folks at Doubletree Hotels are taking us up on the concept in a big way… But it’s great to see that they’ve actually been teaming up with the National Arbor Day Foundation for 5 years now to enable kids across the U.S. and Canada to plant trees indigenous to their area for Arbor Day. This year alone they wound up committing to plant over 10,000 of them, providing lesson plans and volunteer help to make it all happen. And of course they got the hotel staff and guests in on the act as well by passing out green ribbons that read, as you might expect, “Think Trees”! So why’d they decide to name it “Think Trees” after all? Well, it turns out that according to a 2006 survey of kids in N. America more than one third (37 percent) of them rank trees as their favorite part of the environment. And let's face it, if kids think trees are cool they’re just a whole lot more likely to get involved in protecting them too. After observing and writing about Doubletree's success with their program “Wild for Wildlife” this fall, I’m hopeful that they’ll be able to inspire this generation of kids to preserve trees everywhere, and make a lasting and positive environmental impact on their communities as well…