"One Member, One Tree" Challenge
In November 2006 at the UN Nairobi Climate Change Conference, Wangari Maathai, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner, and founder of the Green Belt movement in Africa, announced a United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) campaign - Plant for the Planet - Billion Tree Campaign. We would like to challenge FAWCO members to commit to this campaign by planting one tree per member or at least 15,000 trees (www.unep.org/billiontreecampaign).
The FAWCO Environment Committee encourages each of its clubs world wide to identify a local tree planting project and plant at least one tree per member. Several clubs in the same region, or in totally different countries, can cooperate to plant trees together. Please see the FAWCO Environment Committee webpage for details of individual club projects and pledge totals.
Any club that has difficulty finding a local project is invited to contribute to the FAWCO Millennium Forest project of FAWCO member club AIWCC Casablanca.
Scotland- Trees for Life
Clubs could also contribute to Trees for Life (TFL) in Scotland. The FAWCO Environment Committee has liaised with Trees for Life (http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/ and http://www.restore-earth.org/) for many years and in 2006 Trees For Life named FAWCO as Champion for its financial contribution to the TFL Dundreggan Wild Forest project. TFL is committed to reestablishing a large area of the ancient Caledonian Forest which once covered most of the country. The Dundreggan estate provides an opportunity to add a significant area to already regenerating forest with the advantage that it includes a wide range of habitat from riparian to tree line. Trees such as rowan, birch and alder, as well as hazel, oak, bird cherry, blackthorn and hawthorn will make up the mixed forest. Trees for Life are pledgers of record on the UNEP website and plan to plant 100,000 trees in 2007 - their most important forest restoration year to date. AWA Aberdeen, a FAWCO club in Scotland, has already raised funds to purchase one tree for each of its members in Trees For Life.
Accepting the "One Member, One Tree" challenge would contribute to demonstrating that FAWCO continues to support the UN Millennium Development Goals. The Environment Committee believes that FAWCO should commit to supporting this project by planting a minimum of one tree for each member. For information contact .
