World Environment Day – Trees For Life Sets Quarter Of A Million Trees Target

Press Release 2008

Contact: Kerrigan Bell. Telephone 01309 691292; Email marketing@treesforlife.org.uk.

To mark World Environment Day 2008 (5 June), Trees for Life, the award-winning conservation charity working to restore the Caledonian Forest in the Scottish Highlands, today announced that it aims to plant a quarter of a million trees during 2008 and 2009.

This substantial target is the charity’s new commitment to the United Nations Environment Programme’s ongoing Billion Trees Campaign – a global push to address climate change by encouraging people, organisations and businesses to plant seven billion trees by the end of 2009.

“This is our most ambitious tree-planting drive so far. It will allow people to take simple, effective steps to protect the climate and restore one of the UK’s most stunning forests,” said Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life Founder and Executive Director.

In 2007, Trees for Life surpassed its original commitment of 100,000 trees to the initial Billion Tree Campaign by planting 109,000 trees altogether, as part of its forest restoration work.

“With the world’s environmental problems continuing to grow, we‘re raising our sights and the level of our response again with this new pledge. We invite and encourage more people to come and plant trees with us through our volunteer programme, to help us fulfil this new commitment”, continued Mr. Watson Featherstone.

Today only 1 per cent of the original Caledonian Forest survives. Through Trees for Life people can have trees or groves planted for themselves or as a gift. The charity’s Conservation Volunteer Weeks allow people to make a direct and positive difference to the environment while enjoying an inspiring visit to the wild Highlands. The weeks suit all abilities and anyone over 18 years old can take part.

For more information or to support Trees for Life call 0845 458 3506, email trees@findhorn.org or visit www.treesforlife.org.uk.

This new tree planting target fits in well with this year’s World Environment Day theme, ‘Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy’, under which the United Nations Environment Programme is asking countries, companies and communities to focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by a variety of methods, including forest conservation.

For more information on World Environment Day, visit http://www.unep.org/wed/2008/english/. The Billion Tree Campaign website with pledges, plantings and news is at www.unep.org/billiontreecampaign.

Ends

Notes to editors

Trees for Life is a pioneering charity in ecological restoration. It aims to restore the Caledonian Forest to an area of 1,500 square kilometres in the Highlands west of Inverness. Today only 1% of the original Caledonian Forest remains.
Since planting its first trees in 1991 in Glen Affric, Trees for Life has planted over 650,000 trees. It has won several awards for its conservation work, including UK Conservation Project of the Year in 1991.

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