Posts Tagged trees

The Shorty Award in the #Green category goes to @jerryjamesstone! Green Festival to plant a tree for every vote…

Apr 11

Posted by Sarah in News | Comments off

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Green Festival guerrilla sponsored the 2012 Social Media Shorty Awards in the category of green by vowing to plant a tree for every vote the #green winner received. We nominated Jerry James Stone – and he won! At a ceremony in New York City, the Shorty Awards announced @JerryJamesStone is the winner of Twitter’s 2012 Green Award. Jerry received 419 votes in the green category.

Trees will planted by Trees for the Future as part of an agroforestry program in collaboration with the global communities in which they serve.  Planting trees in agroforestry systems protects the environment and helps to preserve traditional livelihoods and cultures for generations.

*** Update: Jerry announced on Facebook tonight that we’ll be planting more than 419 trees! “I say we double it!,” he said, “I am gonna match it so that 1,000 trees are planted.” ***

2012 has already been a big year for Jerry. He has been chosen by Cline Cellars to be their first Cline Cool Chef. The social media public voting and judging panel are complete; and a vegetarian recipe will be printed on the back label of Cline Cellar’s Cool Climate Pinot Noir. People around the nation voted for Jerry’s Magic Mushroom Risotto. The winning recipe will be printed on the 2011 vintage label due in bottle this autumn.

Jerry recently launched his new vegan/vegetarian cooking channel on YouTube. Subscribe to Jerry’s channel to find out how to make easy recipes for delicious comfort food that is good for you and the planet.

Jerry James Stone is a writer for Discovery Channel, and the producer and main recipe developer for TreeHugger’s Green Wine Guide, which features sustainable wineries and vegetarian wine pairings. He wrote the nightlife section for Fodor’s 2013 San Francisco guide book. His writings can be found in MAKE magazine, The Atlantic and Digg.com. Read all about Jerry’s green accomplishments and why we chose to back him for the 2012 Green Shorty Award. Thank you for voting and planting trees for the future!

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Wangari Maathai: Death of a visionary

Sep 27

Posted by 7star.wwwmaster@gmail.com in News | Comments off

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“Wangari Maathai’s compelling life story is inextricably linked with the social and political changes that so much of Africa has been through since the idea of throwing off European colonialism began to gain traction shortly after World War II.

Her unique insight was that the lives of Kenyans – and, by extension, of people in many other developing countries – would be made better if economic and social progress went hand in hand with environmental protection.

The Green Belt Movement, which she founded in 1977, has planted an estimated 45 million trees around Kenya.

The straightforward environmental benefits of that would have been important enough on their own in a country whose population has grown more than 10-fold over the last century, creating huge pressure on land and water.

But what made the movement more remarkable was that it was also conceived as a source of employment in rural areas, and a way to give new skills to women who regularly came second to men in terms of power, education, nutrition and much else.

Now, she has succumbed to a battle with cancer. But if cancer was new to her, battle was definitely not; it was a way of life.

Opposing a major government-backed development in Nairobi, she was labelled a “crazy woman”; it was suggested that she should behave like a good African woman and do as she was told.

Her former husband made similar comments when suing for divorce: she was strong-willed, and could not be controlled.

This alone gives some idea of the battles Dr Maathai fought in the politically active phase of her life, which encompassed and indeed wove together the ideals of helping Kenya develop sustainably and helping Kenyan women achieve equality…”

Wangari Maathai: Death of a visionary by Richard Black via BBC News.

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Trees for the Future Agroforestry Initiatives Benefit Endangered Cross River Gorillas in Cameroon

Oct 19

Posted by 7star.wwwmaster@gmail.com in Press Releases | Comments off

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Silver Spring, MD – October 6, 2010 Trees for the Future, a leading nonprofit organization providing economic opportunity and improving livelihoods worldwide through seed distribution and agroforestry training, says its work in Southwest Cameroon is not only helping communities develop more sustainable agricultural practices, but it’s also helping protect Africa’s most critically endangered ape, the Cross River Gorilla.

“As far as we know, there are only about 300 of these types of gorillas left in the wild,” says Ethan Budiansky, head of Africa and Caribbean programs for Trees for the Future.
“Unsustainable farming practices and deforestation for basic needs like food and housing exploit the natural habitats of a gorilla on the verge of extinction,” he adds.

Trees for the Future concentrates its efforts in the Western Highlands of Cameroon where it works with rural farmers to develop sustainable land-use practices which not only improve the lives of people, but help protect the Cross River Gorilla and other endangered animals including the Cameroon-Nigeria chimpanzee. As of 2010, Trees for the Future is collaborating with 171 farming associations and working with over 3,000 farmers in 15 districts to plant over 2.2 million more trees by the end of this year.

Deforestation is a critical problem in Cameroon due to agricultural expansion and the ever growing need for construction material and fuel wood. By improving soil fertility and decreasing erosion through agroforestry extension, farmers increase their crop yields while also providing income-generating activities such as raising livestock and honey, snail, and fruit production. Trees for the Future continually works with farmers to develop sustainable agriculture methods that also provide alternative sources for construction material and fuel wood in the Lebialem Highlands, home to both the Cross River Gorilla and the Cameroon-Nigeria chimpanzee.

More than 50 percent of Cameroon’s 18 million people reside in rural areas and nearly 50 percent of the rural population is living in poverty. The majority of the people live in or around the country’s 22 million hectares of forest and are dependent on the forest’s resources for their livelihoods and to meet local energy needs.

“Through working with local farmers on more sustainable practices we are protecting forests by creating a buffer zone between the gorillas and local communities,” adds Budiansky. “Improving soil fertility to increase crop yields is the primary aspect of our work in Cameroon, but it has a broader impact on neighboring forests and the endangered animals that inhabit them.”

Trees for the Future also works with Peace Corps Cameroon helping to support programs and train volunteers in agroforestry.

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About Trees for the Future
Headquartered in Silver Spring, Md. and founded in 1989, Trees for the Future is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization helping communities around the world plant trees. Through seed distribution, sustainable management and agroforestry training, and in-country technical assistance, it empowers rural groups worldwide to restore tree cover to their lands, protect the environment and help to preserve traditional livelihoods and cultures for generations. Trees for the Future attend at 7th Annual WDC Green Festival October 23-24 in booth#229. The organization will provide newsletters, brochures, and free bumper stickers, and visitors will have the chance to meet members of the Trees for the Future team and hear their stories out in the field. To learn more about Trees for the Future, visit: http://www.plant-trees.org.

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