If 75 elementary school students each planted a tree today, the trees, when full-grown, would provide a day's worth of oxygen for 300 people. Just imagine if 5,000 kids participated in a "grass roots" tree-planting endeavor across North America? In recognition of the nation's oldest environmental holiday and in celebration of spring -- the season of re-growth and renewal -- Doubletree Hotels today announced a two-month initiative with another prominent "tree" organization -- The National Arbor Day Foundation -- as part of the brand's successful Teaching Kids to Care program.
Teaching Kids to Care is a community-based outreach initiative that connects Doubletree hotels with local elementary schools and youth groups to educate children about making conscious decisions, including caring for their community. During the next several weeks, hundreds of Doubletree volunteers and elementary school students across the U.S. and Canada will plant more than 10,000 seedling trees to demonstrate how they care about the world they live in, by working together on projects right in their own communities.
Launched with a kick-off event in Santee, Calif. in suburban San Diego, volunteers from the Doubletree Hotel San Diego Mission Valley and the Doubletree Golf Resort San Diego along with nearly 100 area elementary school students planted the first of 100 semi-mature trees at the new Town Center Community Park. This Southern California tree donation and planting is one of more than 100 Great Community Tree Planting events that will take place from today (National Arbor Day) through June 30.
"Doubletree Hotels is proud to introduce this 'groundbreaking' extension of our successful Teaching Kids to Care community outreach program, which continues to inspire and engage children at the youngest possible age about how they can make a conscious and powerful difference in the world when they 'think globally' and 'act locally,'" said Dave Horton, senior vice president, brand management for Doubletree. "The success of this program, now in its third year, can only be attributed to the collective and continued spirit of our Doubletree hotels across North America and the numerous school teachers and administrators that truly understand our genuine passion in Teaching Kids to Care."
The creation of the Teaching Kids to Care tree planting initiative also comes as a direct result of the "Caring About America" survey, conducted last fall by Kelton Research on behalf of Doubletree Hotels, which found that nearly 60 percent of American parents that responded think community service should be emphasized as much or more than traditional subjects in their children's school.
However, two unique findings from the survey indicate some difficulties with getting these important lessons learned. Nearly 9 out of 10 child respondents say parents are their primary teachers when it comes to social responsibility, however approximately one third (29 percent) of those parents say they're financially strained or too busy to participate in community service activities with their kids.
In an effort to address this important challenge, Doubletree Hotels -- with help from The National Arbor Day Foundation -- provided participating teachers and students with 75 tree seedlings that are guaranteed to thrive in their region of the country and a Teaching Kids to Care lesson plan that focuses on the value of giving back to the community by way of planting trees and recycling.
After completing the lesson plan, each participating class will work with their local Doubletree Hotel in coordinating a tree planting activity. Hotel properties across the country are developing a wide range of ways to plant their trees. From school landscaping to wildfire reforestation to city and neighborhood beautification, each project has been designed to meet the needs of their community.
"We're truly honored to be involved with Doubletree Hotels and their Teaching Kids to Care program," said Kevin Sander, corporate marketing director for The National Arbor Day Foundation. "As a result of this initiative, thousands of kids will learn about the value of trees -- by actually getting the chance to plant one of their own -- so that they truly understand their important role in enhancing and improving the sustainability of our earth's resources for years to come."
Some other interesting facts from The National Arbor Day Foundation about the benefits of planting 75 trees:
- 75 trees can save $139,500 in air pollution control each year.
- 75 trees can provide $69,750 in erosion control each year.
- 75 trees can lift up to 11,250 gallons of water out of the ground and into the air each day, lowering air temperature as the water evaporates.
Arbor Day began in Nebraska on April 10, 1872, when the State Board of Agriculture accepted a resolution from pioneer J. Sterling Morton "to set aside a day to plant trees, both forest and fruit." More than one million trees were planted on the first Arbor Day, and Morton became known as the official founder. Shortly after this 1872 observance, other states passed legislation to observe Arbor Day each year with appropriate ceremonies. By 1920 more than 45 states and territorial possessions were celebrating Arbor Day. Today, Arbor Day is celebrated in all fifty states on the last Friday in April.
The National Arbor Day Foundation is the largest nonprofit tree-planting organization in the country. Since its beginning in 1972, The National Arbor Day Foundation strives to teach elementary school students about the importance of trees; to replant trees in America's national forests that have been damaged by fire, insect or disease; to work with The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International and local nongovernmental organizations to preserve rain forest land through Rain Forest Rescue and support farmers through sales of Arbor Day Coffee; and to provide a wide range of opportunities for continuing education and development to professionals and laymen, with regional tree- and community-related seminars and conferences.
Doubletree is a member of the Hilton Family of Hotels