The volunteers, using no mechanical equipment, planted the mangroves in the Indus River Delta wetland ecosystem in the Southern Sindh Province of Pakistan, beating India in a friendly competition which seeks to preserve endangered forests and help temper the global warming effects of deforestation.

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Parenting brings out the pragmatic and resourceful skills in everyone.  kajeet approached us with the idea of

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According to Peruvian news source Andina, the Ministry hopes to complete the project by February 20th of this year. They started working on December 13th of last year. That will mean that an average of 512,820 trees will be planted each day over a three month period– an astounding and inspiring example for other countries to follow around the world.

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At left is Dizzywood’s celebration of Wildwood Glen’s reforestation, where kids planted 15,000 trees in online to offline eco-parity, partnering with The Arbor Day Foundation. I’ve added a slew of other tree-planting ideas and sites at the end of this piece to get ready for 9-22-08, worldwide Tree Planting Day coming up in the next couple weeks. In keeping with the green media theme of hope, promise and eco-renewal…here’s more from my interview with Scott Arpajian, Co-Founder of preteen virtual world, Dizzywood…

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Carbon offsetting has been around for a while now, giving you the opportunity to reduce your “carbon footprint” by trading cash for your personal carbon output. In most cases, this quid pro quo occurs through a donation to an organization that plants trees of some sort in some place where, hopefully (but not always), they are both needed and helpful to the original habitat. In theory, these trees then sequester carbon dioxide in the air–a major cause of global warming, acid rain, and other current environmental problems.

Let me say upfront that so far I have been skeptical of carbon offsetting. However good the underlying intentions, this sort of tradeoff can be used as an excuse to keep on stomping around on the Earth and avoid making real changes in our lifestyles. If we pay for the things we step on, then that absolves us from guilt or responsibility, right? If we can buy our way out of guilt, then we can buy our way out of changing ourselves, right?

Also problematic is the fact that many offsetting programs may or may not be reliable; it is often hard to tell how trustworthy one organization is or how true its claims are about its use of funds. Even if the organization does use offsetting donations to plant trees or do something similar, how can we be sure that the measures employed are indeed helpful overall (e.g., the right types of trees are planted, needy/imperiled habitats are targeted, sustainable methods are used, etc.)?

In light of this skepticism, I am surprisingly excited now that The Nature Conservancy has launched its own Voluntary Carbon Offset Program. I find this to be a really noteworthy venture for TNC, since it is a global leader in habitat and species preservation, research, advocacy, and general stewardship–or, as its new motto puts it, “Protecting Nature. Preserving Life.”

The Conservancy’s Program is actually going to involve a collection of individual projects focused on restoring and preserving specific areas using the funds contributed through voluntary carbon offsets. The first is the Tensas River Basin Project, which seeks to restore and preserve a key tract of land in Louisiana encompassing forests once populated by ivory-billed woodpeckers (hopefully there are still a few of these flying around!), Florida panthers, and Red Wolves.

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What if you could guarantee exactly how much you’d get, based on how long you’ve owned it, at the time of purchase? This is now a reality, via the company Tech Forward. You can buy a product at any store you like, then purchase their Guaranteed Buyback service, which covers a wide range of electronics, from MP3 players to desktop computers.

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There is an ongoing debate on the effectiveness of trees planting operations as a tool mitigate global warming. A new research from Australia adds more input into it, showing that agroforestry and reforestation are an important carbon sink.

The research, as reported on The Age, was conducted by researchers from Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), Queensland Climate Change Centre of Excellence, and Queensland Department of Primary Industries & Fisheries. It was presented to an agriculture, greenhouse gases and emissions trading conference on the Gold Coast.

Dr. Beverley Henry from MLA, who presented the research, showed that different forms of land management had a variety of effects on soil carbon. She said, according to the article, that researchers, analysing data from 74 publications on land-use changes, had made several conclusions:

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Plant a Tree and Give it a Name

This is the classic Arbor Day activity. Whether you plant a native tree or an ornamental in your yard, children love to plant trees and monitor the tree’s growth in comparison to their own. In our family, we name our trees, such as Maggie the Magnolia. This little bit of personification causes children to become attached to the their tree and provide it with lots of loving care.

Make Your Own Field Guide

Take your children for a nature hike or just a walk around the neighborhood. Collect a few leaves from the trees you see, then take them home. Identify the trees, attach the leaves to pages, and create your own field guide. We did this my first year teaching for all of the different oaks that grow in our valley. If you don’t have a book that can help you identify the tree species, you can also look it up on the internet.

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In Pensacola, the University of West Florida (UWF) will host a day of environmental symposia at the University Commons Auditorium. Among the topics speakers will tackle: “The Gulf Coast Main Ecosystem Partnership: A Story in Large Landscape Management,” “Small-Scale Wind Turbines: A Joint UWF/University of Florida Study” and “Climate Change: Facts, Fantasies and Solutions.” Following Mike Papantonio’s keynote address on “The New Art of Fighting Back,” attendees will be able to view a screening of the film, “Sacred Planet.” All the programs are free and open to the public.

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1. Put together a team of the most creative, fun-loving, eco-conscious students and friends that you can find.

2. Perform a proper medical inspection to “diagnose” your copy machine and determine what disease you believe is making it chew up paper at such an enormous rate. Unfortunately, creating paper uses lots of energy, so it creates lots of CO2 that’s contributing to global warming and making the planet sick.

3. Send an email to the copy crisis team at copycrisisteam (@) gmail (dot) com confirming that your school photocopier has been struck by the disease, and include the name of your school, town, state, and the number of teachers and students who are being affected by it.

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For each person who takes the survey, Union Fenosa donates 1 Euro to Acciónatura, a Spanish organization that uses the money to reforest the Atlantic Forest in Brazil.

Bosquevirtual, or “Virtual Forest,” has also teamed up with Second Life, a 3D web Mecca for internet socializing. Along with the actual donation to reforestation, then, every two surveys completed generates the planting of a virtual tree in a virtual forest in the Second Life 3D world.

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A much needed boost to city landscapes here in the UK.

And perhaps boots up the backsides of local authorities who thought citizens such as me were unaware of what was going on.

And beginning to disappear.

I don’t personally think that a city environment is a natural environment for an ape species. I don’t think any of us do.

We adapt. But we still need to see greenery.

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When was the last time your dad went camping? If he is like my dad, he hasn't slept in a tent since he visited me and I was living in a tent on South Fork Mountain! The last time my dad took a real camping trip was when I was a child. Depending on the age and health of your father, you may need to go car camping or find a short trail for the adventure. Remember, it is hard for older bones to sleep on the ground, so an air mattress may be necessary. If camping is too big of an ordeal, how about taking dad for a hike or bicycle ride. My father was very good at taking us into nature frequently, despite our suburban upbringing. Revisiting one of our favorite childhood hikes would be a nostalgic moment we could share with the next generation. A bicycle ride would be a similar adventure, reminding Dad of the times when he taught you how to to ride a bike. When was the last time you made your dad a card or a gift? A gift made with your hands will bring a smile to his face. You don't have to be super crafty or an artist to accomplish this task. Find your talents, whether digital or by hand, and create something your dad can hang on the refrigerator! If you are musically inclined, write dad a song or sing him one of his favorites. If you feel you must spend money to honor your dad, there are plenty of ways you can show your green love. You can make a donation to No More Victims, a non-profit that brings injured Iraqi children to the US for medical treatment. Or, you could buy Dad a plant and help him put it in the ground. If you can't be there with Dad, Tree2MyDoor will send a living gift for you or a tree gift pack that supports a conservation project throughout the world. This gift includes a GPS map of the site, so when Dad takes his next trip to Chile or Belize, he can find his gift! Holidays, such as Father's Day, should not always be about buying gifts. Remember what your mother said, "It is the thought that counts," so be thoughtful this year. Let Dad know you love him and appreciate him by giving a truly sustainable gift.

I wish I could say we have learned from The Lorax and saved all the Truffula trees, but old growth forests are still being logged. In fact, Kleenex brand tissues logs old growth forests, including the Boreal Forest, in order that its customers can blow their noses. Remember handkerchiefs? My dad always had one in his pocket ready for our childhood runny noses. They are softer than tissues, and old growth forests do not need to be logged in their production. Of course, alternatives to Kleenex, such as Seventh Generation Tissues, exist.

The Lorax by Dr. SeussDr. Seuss does leave us hope that we have the power to correct the environmental problems humans have created. With the last Truffula seed, "Plant a new Truffula. Treat it with care. Give it clean water. And feed it fresh air. Grow a forest. Protect it from axes that hack. Then the Lorax and all of his friends may come back." Planting trees with your child is a wonderful activity. Every year, we manage to get leftover seedlings from tree planters. Just last week, 500 Douglas fir seedlings were left on our driveway. The US Forest Service has a policy of incinerating leftover seedlings, but if you find a kindly employee, you can receive contraband trees. Private tree planters often just toss their leftover seedlings off the side of a road, but they can give you trees without violating policy. At a cost of about $.75 a tree, it is such a waste not to plant these leftover trees. Not all species require tree guards, and I managed to score thousands of biodegradable tree guards at a local recycling center.

If you live in a city and want to plant trees, call a tree nursery and ask for a donation or purchase native species of trees. You can call the forest service and ask permission to plant, or you could find a spot on public land and plant away (not sure if this is against the law, but it is public land). In fact, why not organize a field trip for your child’s school to plant trees? When I was an elementary school teacher, we planted trees in a burn as part of our Adopt a Watershed science curriculum. The forest service assisted us and provided the trees. Returning in subsequent years to measure the trees and check for survival allowed the children to become stewards of the land. This year my daughter's school is performing The Lorax. We will be giving away tote bags made from recycled bottles filled with seedlings to the audience to encourage family tree planting expeditions.

Hope for the Future: photo courtesy of The Nature ConservancyIt is easy to despair in all the depressing news regarding global warming, and children can be especially susceptible to anxiety over environmental issues. Instead of going to see an eco-therapist, get off the couch and plant some trees with your children. It is fun to watch the trees grow along with your child’s body and mind. The redwood we planted in our yard when my daughter was four years old is definitely outgrowing her, and it will still be here when we are long gone!

In addition, planting trees is a nice way to memorialize someone who has passed on. We have planted a dogwood for every dog that has left our family. This helps our children deal with the loss and gives us a place to visit when we our missing our beloved pet. There are organizations that will plant trees for you, such as Trees for the Future, if you don’t feel like digging in the dirt. This also makes a great gift.

Although planting trees is a great family activity, it is not enough to save us from global warming. We must do more to offset our carbon emissions. Modeling green family values for our children involves making choices, in order that we leave the smallest footprint behind. Please visit Eco Child's Play to read more about When Planting Trees is Not Enough.