Arbor Day Invites Voters to Choose Winning Poster

Today, the Arbor Day Foundation launched a new online voting element as part of its annual poster contest at: www.arborday.org/postercontest. Visitors can log on from today through April 3 to vote for their favorite of the 47 posters selected as winners in their home states.

Visitors can vote once in every 24-hour period until voting ends at 5:30 pm CDT on April 3.

The entry with the most votes will move to the final round of judging for the national winner. A panel of five judges will then select a national winner, along with second-place and third-place finishers, who will be named on Arbor Day, Friday, April 24.

"This will be a great way to involve the entire nation in the poster contest," said Michelle Saulnier-Scribner, program director of the Arbor Day Foundation. "School-aged children, as well as their parents, teachers - people who are interested in art or in trees - they all have an opportunity to play a part in this contest."

The national winner, with parents and teacher, will receive an expense-paid trip to the National Arbor Day Awards Weekend in Nebraska City in April, a $1,000 savings bond, a lifetime membership to the Arbor Day Foundation, a tree planted in his or her name and a framed color copy of his or her poster. The national winner's teacher will receive $200.

The second-place and third-place winners will each receive savings bonds and trees will be planted in their honor. Prizes also will be awarded on the state level.

One of the 47 Arbor Day posters competing to be named the 2009 national contest winner. (Image courtesy Arbor Day)

Now that Arbor Day is less than a month away, donors of all varieties are collecting funds and pledging to plant trees.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry will plant 70,000 trees in Jackson-Washington State Forest with funds provided by the Arbor Day Foundation. The 70,000 trees - six species of oak and black walnut - will help convert wetland crop fields back to native forest wetlands areas.

Nearly 34,000 elementary school students in more than 360 schools in four states will plant the equivalent of 85 acres of trees this Arbor Day as Dominion's Project Plant It! enters its third year. The cooperative partnership among Dominion, the Arbor Day Foundation and local school districts has tripled in size and scope since it began and this year will involve students in Virginia, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

"Project Plant It! offers students a hands-on experience as they learn about the value of trees in our ecosystem," said William C. Hall Jr., vice president, corporate communications and community affairs for Dominion. "Students can involve their families in planting the seedlings and watching them grow into trees. That makes Project Plant It! both educational and fun." Every participating student will receive a tree seedling to plant at home or in another special place.

American Electric Power also has emerged as a donor to the Arbor Day tree planting effort.

Customers of AEP utility companies who enroll in the company's paperless billing program over the next two months will each earn $1 for the Arbor Day Foundation. The funds will be used for reforestation projects in AEP's service territory.

At the end of 2008, some seven percent of AEP's residential customers - 261,350 customers - were enrolled in AEP's paperless billing program.

"Our customers who choose paperless billing find they save time and money, in addition to making a positive environmental contribution," said Dennis Welch, AEP executive vice president - environment, safety & health and facilities. "Those who enroll in April and May will make an even greater impact with the planting of trees in our service territory.

"Our customers' participation in the program during 2008 saved approximately 89 tons of paper, 2,072 trees, 200,000 pounds of solid waste, 500,000 pounds of greenhouse gases and 1.6 million gallons of wastewater, based on the Environmental Defense Fund Paper Calculator," Welch said.

In February, the health benefit company Humana, Inc. made a similar offer. For every customer who switches to e-mail communications to receive health information, Humana has teamed up with the Arbor Day Foundation to donate $1 towards the planting of trees in forests throughout the United States.

"By switching to electronic communication, Humana members make changes that lead to greater sustainability for our planet," said Charles Lambert, Humana's vice president, associate and business services.

Humana's customers can make the switch via the MyHumana portal, clicking on the "My Profile" link, and selecting My Communication Preferences.

"We appreciate the support from Humana and its many caring customers to help restore our nation's forests through this tree-planting program," said John Rosenow, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. "Trees help protect waterways and soil, restore habitat for wildlife, and help preserve the Earth's vital forests for generations to come."

The Arbor Day Foundation is encouraging people to help plant trees in national forests, including those in Colorado that have been devastated by the mountain pine beetle. In honor of every person who becomes a new member of the Arbor Day Foundation with a $10 membership contribution during this campaign, the Foundation will plant 10 trees in a national forest that has been devastated by insects, disease or wildfire.

The Plumas National Forest in California, for instance, designated as a forest reserve by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1905, is in need of 800,000 trees as a result of devastating wildfires in 2007 and 2008.

Several thousand acres burned with such severity that they are now considered to be in a deforested condition. In order to prevent the land from becoming scrub fields, several areas need to be planted immediately, since few live trees survived to provide a natural seed source.

The Arbor Day Foundation will help reintroduce native species of trees to the Antelope Complex in Plumas, including Ponderosa pines, sugar pines, Douglas fir and white fir.

Individuals, groups and organizations can help plant in Plumas with the help of the Arbor Day Foundation. Through the Foundation's Trees in Celebration program, trees can be planted in honor of milestones and special occasions. People can honor loved ones through the Trees in Memory program. Click here for more information.

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