This Holiday Season, Put a Little “Green” In Their Stocking

The Nature Conservancy’s “Plant a Billion Trees,” “Adopt an Acre” and “Caribbean Quest” programs offer meaningful ways for Floridians to give lasting holiday gifts.

Altamonte Springs, Florida — November 14, 2008 — What better gift can we give the younger generation than Florida’s natural habitats—our magnificent coasts and forests, fragile wetlands and rivers—preserved for their future enjoyment? And what gift is more critical to human life itself than the “ecosystem services” these provide such as food, clean air and fresh water?

The Nature Conservancy offers excellent opportunities to spread holiday cheer by helping to protect the places that plants and animals rely upon for survival:

• The Plant a Billion Trees Campaign—Plant a tree for only $1 in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest
• The Adopt an Acre Program—Adopt an acre in the United States, Africa, Australia or Costa Rica
• The Caribbean Quest—Conserve Florida’s backyard by supporting our Caribbean neighbors to fund park rangers, patrol boats, on-the-ground sciences and education programs

Plant a Billion Trees

Set a tree planting goal using the Conservancy’s online campaign widget on the “Plant a Billion Trees” Web site. The trees will be planted by Conservancy staff and partners working in The Atlantic Forest of Brazil.

The Atlantic Forest is considered one of the world’s most endangered tropical forests—only 7 percent of its original area remains. Tropical forests like this one play a particularly important role in the fight against global climate change. And this reforestation effort to Plant a Billion Trees in The Atlantic Forest will remove 10 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year—that's like taking 2 million cars off the road.

Labeled by PerezHilton.com as “a worthwhile cause,” donors to the Plant a Billion Trees campaign will help restore South America's imperiled Atlantic Forest—at a cost as little as a dollar a tree.

Adopt an Acre

The Nature Conservancy’s Adopt an Acre Program features the last remaining stands of bottomland and longleaf pine forests of the southern United States. From its rare yellow fringed orchid to the colorful cerulean warbler, the magnificent Southern Coastal Plain Forests teem with unique plants and wildlife, including more than 300 rare or endangered species. The iconic trees that make up the Southern Coastal Plain Forests — such as pine, bald cypress, tupelo gum and cherrybark oak — provide natural flood protection while sustaining black bears, migratory birds and rare animals like the red-cockaded woodpecker, gopher tortoise and Bachman's sparrow.

Throughout the Southern Coastal Plain, areas that can sustain bottomland forests have been reduced by a stunning 90 percent. Unsustainable forest management, agriculture, development and the suppression of fire have diminished and degraded the South’s once extensive forests, putting wildlife and people at immediate risk.

With a strong network of partners, The Nature Conservancy is working across nine states to conserve the Southern Coastal Plain Forests. The Conservancy is working to place an additional 700,000 acres under conservation management, restore another 500,000 acres and reintroduce natural fire cycles. The cost to adopt an acre is $50.

Caribbean Quest

The Conservancy’s Caribbean Quest is an opportunity to help protect Florida’s backyard. The Caribbean is one of the world’s most unique places—many of its native species are found nowhere else in the world.

Thanks to a generous donor the Conservancy has an opportunity to leverage up to $100,000 through our Caribbean Quest, a fundraising effort to support the Caribbean nations’ exciting and important work. Your gift will help provide park rangers, patrol boats, on-the-ground scientists, education programs and more.

Funding for the Caribbean Quest will help protect one of nature’s most spectacular displays of beauty, now and into the future. To learn more about Caribbean Quest or to donate to the program, send an e-mail to caribbeanquest@tnc.org.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.