November 19, 2007 - 4:27pm — GreenTeensJessie
World Tree Day- What do you think?!?
Hey Everyone,
Jessie here from Green Teens. Our club is working with a group of kids in Malaysia to help form a World Tree Day. This day would be like National Arbor Day, except for all around the world. We have some great ideas, like planting trees in every time zone, and giving speeches, holding massive tree plantings, and more. However, we NEED your support. UNEP is going to help advocate for teh holiday which we hope to have by September 2008, but this will take a lot of work. I am posting the link to the World Tree Day website as well as a letter from the group that began this wonderful campaign. What are your thoughts on this day? Would you help spread awareness about it?
The petition on the page is also key, get as many signatures as you can, the more signatures the more likely the holiday will become a reality, because of the overwelming support! Please download it, get signatures, and send it in! Thank you!
Website: http://www.worldtreeday.org
Petition: http://worldtreeday.org/files/WTD_Petition_Sheet.doc
Letter:
WHY WE NEED A WORLD TREE DAY?
A Message from the Tree Theatre Group
We must see ourselves as part of humanity.
That makes us brothers and sisters, in one big human family.
As part of humanity, we are also part of nature, mother nature.
That makes us children of mother earth, living as one big family in one small planet.
Yes, one very small planet shared by more than 6 billion brothers and sisters.
Yes, our small planet is getting smaller, smaller as it now takes only 12 hours or just half
a day by plane to fly from Malaysia to beautiful Kenya.
Yes, our small planet is getting smaller as technology such as the internet brings us closer.
We hope that our common dream for a healthier planet will bring us much closer as
partners to help save our small planet. The planet might be small, but our spirit for the
environment, mother nature must surely be big to face the challenges ahead.
Yes, sadly our small planet is getting smaller even for the trees. We are not practicing enough
sustainable development; we should be planting 10 trees for every one we cut.
Did you know that every day 32,300 hectares of trees are lost? It is as large as the size of
70,000 football fields a day. In one year we are losing 12 million hectares of beautiful trees.
Did you know that it takes more than 100 years for a single huge tree to grow in the forest and
develop an integrated eco-system of flaura, fauna, insects and animals that is all gone in just
5 minutes when it is cut down?
That is why UNEP’s billion tree campaign ( www.unep.org/billiontreecampaign/ ) is a timely and
important campaign for all of us to take part in. If we don’t plant trees, then who will? If we don’t
plant now, then when will we do it?
It is our belief that trees are symbols of life. Trees are our lungs. The oxygen it breathes out for
us and the carbon dioxide it takes away from us sustains…… life. And I believe that it’s the
plants and trees that will give us our miracle cures to fight diseases.
Can we imagine a world without trees? Where will the birds go? Where will we get our fruits?
Where will we get our clean air? Where will we get our shade? And where will we climb and
play?
Is the journey of trees just from seeds to become wooden seats?
Trees give life because they too are alive. Can you hear the trees crying? Can you see their
tears flowing? Listen and watch carefully and we shall indeed hear and see it.
Post your ideas on the day or how to improve it here!