VALENTINE’S CAMPAIGN PUTS 100,000 TREES PLAN FOR SCOTTISH FOREST ON TRACK

A special Valentine’s campaign has put ambitious plans by award-winning conservation charity Trees for Life to plant 100,000 trees during 2007 firmly on track.

[ClickPress, Fri Feb 23 2007] A special Valentine’s campaign has put ambitious plans by award-winning conservation charity Trees for Life to plant 100,000 trees during 2007 firmly on track.

The charity’s ‘I Love Pine’ Valentine’s campaign, which received the backing of many well-known Scots, gave people the chance to have a specially-dedicated Scots pine, or grove of pines, planted in Scotland’s Caledonian Forest on behalf of a loved one.

The campaign generated enough donations for Trees to Life to plant several hundred trees, and sparked thousands of visits to its web site.

Thanks to the generosity of the public and corporate supporters such as Standard Life, Trees for Life now has funds to purchase 100,000 trees, but it needs to raise another £15,500 to fund the planting.

Trees for Life's Founder and Executive Director, Alan Watson Featherstone said: “I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who made our Valentine’s campaign a success. Every tree purchased will help us succeed in our plan to make 2007 our most important year so far by planting 100,000 trees – a target that represents a massive scaling up of our work.”

Trees for Life’s 100,000 Trees Appeal is part of the United Nations Environment Programme’s Billion Tree Campaign, launched by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai at last November’s Climate Change Convention talks in Nairobi. The UN campaign’s goal is for a billion trees to be planted by individuals and organisations around the world in 2007, to engage people everywhere in addressing the threat of climate change.

The Caledonian Forest is a vital habitat that is Scotland’s equivalent of the rainforests, and is home to a unique range of wildlife, from red squirrels and pine martens to the capercaillie and wood ants.

To join Trees for Life, to dedicate a tree or grove, or to join a volunteer Work Week planting trees, visit www.treesforlife.org.uk or call 01309 691292.

Ends

Notes to editors
1. 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.
2. Since planting its first trees in 1991 in Glen Affric, Trees for Life has planted over half a million native trees in the Highlands. It has won several awards for its conservation work, including UK Conservation Project of the Year in 1991.
3. For more information on the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Billion Tree Campaign visit www.unep.org/Billiontreecampaign

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