New Mexico to Gain 42,000 Trees
Project part of a program to reduce carbon dioxide
Albuquerque Journal
April 27, 2006
Wangari Maathai at the Shaklee Corporation National Conference, Chicago, August 2005.
Thanks to one Alameda woman, more than 42,000 trees have been pledged to be planted in New Mexico over the next year.
Bobbie Stasey, a Shaklee distributor, hosted an Earth Day tree-planting workshop Saturday to teach people the proper way to plant a tree.
She said she held the event as part of Shaklee’s commitment to plant a million trees in North America in the next year to help offset the carbon dioxide the company produces and to raise awareness of global warming.
One way of offsetting carbon dioxide production is by planting trees, which absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow.
Stasey said Barry Bitzer, Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez’s chief of staff, attended the workshop. He pledged on behalf of the city of Albuquerque to plant 2,000 trees during the next year.
Sue Probart, executive director of Tree New Mexico, pledged to plant 40,000 trees in the state, and more than 56 trees were pledged by the more than 30 people attending the workshop, Stasey said.
At a minimum, she said, each person on the planet needs at least 10 trees to make the oxygen they need to live.
Stasey said Shaklee’s Million Trees, Million Dreams initiative came to life after the company’s chairman, Roger Barnett, was inspired by 2004 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai and her Green Belt Movement. Maathai is Kenya’s minister of the environment and is the first environmentalist to win a Nobel Peace Prize.
Thirty years ago, Maathai began organizing women in Kenya with the idea that by planting trees, the women would improve the environment and their livelihoods. The women are given small stipends annually for trees. The idea evolved into the Green Belt Movement, which has planted more than 30 million trees in Kenya.
Shaklee also is pledging to give the Green Belt Movement $100,000 to plant another million trees in Kenya, Stasey said.
She said it is not too late to pledge a tree. The 1 million tree initiative will run through next year’s Earth Day. Stasey said she even has tree saplings on hand to give to prospective planters.
For more information, call Stasey at 897-4124.
Stasey said another way people can plant trees is through American Forests’ Web site, www.americanforests.org. Every $1 donated will plant one native tree in an ecosystem restoration project. Trees can also be planted by calling 1-800-545-TREE, or by mail to American Forests, PO Box 2000, Washington, D.C., 20013.
Bobbie Stasey, a Shaklee distributor, hosted an Earth Day tree-planting workshop Saturday to teach people the proper way to plant a tree.
She said she held the event as part of Shaklee’s commitment to plant a million trees in North America in the next year to help offset the carbon dioxide the company produces and to raise awareness of global warming.
One way of offsetting carbon dioxide production is by planting trees, which absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as they grow.
Stasey said Barry Bitzer, Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez’s chief of staff, attended the workshop. He pledged on behalf of the city of Albuquerque to plant 2,000 trees during the next year.
Sue Probart, executive director of Tree New Mexico, pledged to plant 40,000 trees in the state, and more than 56 trees were pledged by the more than 30 people attending the workshop, Stasey said.
At a minimum, she said, each person on the planet needs at least 10 trees to make the oxygen they need to live.
Stasey said Shaklee’s Million Trees, Million Dreams initiative came to life after the company’s chairman, Roger Barnett, was inspired by 2004 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai and her Green Belt Movement. Maathai is Kenya’s minister of the environment and is the first environmentalist to win a Nobel Peace Prize.
Thirty years ago, Maathai began organizing women in Kenya with the idea that by planting trees, the women would improve the environment and their livelihoods. The women are given small stipends annually for trees. The idea evolved into the Green Belt Movement, which has planted more than 30 million trees in Kenya.
Shaklee also is pledging to give the Green Belt Movement $100,000 to plant another million trees in Kenya, Stasey said.
She said it is not too late to pledge a tree. The 1 million tree initiative will run through next year’s Earth Day. Stasey said she even has tree saplings on hand to give to prospective planters.
For more information, call Stasey at 897-4124.
Stasey said another way people can plant trees is through American Forests’ Web site, www.americanforests.org. Every $1 donated will plant one native tree in an ecosystem restoration project. Trees can also be planted by calling 1-800-545-TREE, or by mail to American Forests, PO Box 2000, Washington, D.C., 20013.