The Coalition of United Green Partners was formed in 2001 to promote urban forestry and tree care. In addition to SLOC, member organizations include American Forests, Associated Landscape Contractors of America, International Society of Aboriculture, National Alliance for Community Trees, National Arbor Day Foundation, National Arborist Association, National Tree Trust, Society of American Foresters, TreeLink, and USDA Forest Service. Visit www.treesaregood.org.
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Next February, the eyes of the world will be on Salt Lake City for the Winter Olympics of 2002. In addition to staging world-class athletic competitions, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC) for the Olympic Winter Games of 2002 is taking advantage of the attention to promote a healthy and safe environment. As part of its Plant It Green 2002 urban forestry program, SLOC has launched a national public awareness campaign extolling the value of trees and their care.
What do trees have to do with the Olympic Winter Games? Plenty, according to Diane Conrad Gleason, director of SLOC environment program. “In 1994, ‘environment’ joined ‘sport’ and ‘culture’ as the third governing principle of the Olympic Movement. As promised in our bid, the Salt Lake Organizing Committee has developed a variety of programs to both conserve and enhance the region’s environment, leaving the Salt Lake area a better, cleaner place than it was before the Games.
“Trees promote a healthy and safe environment in our urban centers,” Gleason explained. “They help keep our air and our water clean, promote human health, and add to the quality of life.” Included in its extensive air-quality management plan are several tree planting programs whose goal is to see 100,000 trees planted in Utah by games-time in February 2002.
But Utah is not the only beneficiary of these environmental efforts. To promote the benefits of trees—especially urban trees—nationally, SLOC has produced two 30-second television public service announcements. The two spots, “Sam I Am” and “Siesta,” currently are running in the Salt Lake City market and as part of a nationally syndicated winter sports program. In mid-December, and again in January, the public service announcements will be distributed to television stations nationally via satellite and to local and regional broadcast and cable stations through a network of tree care associations. (If you have a direct contact with your local media and would like to assist with the distribution of these PSAs, please contact Jim Skiera at the ISA office, jskiera@isa-arbor.com.— Editor.) The spots also will run on television screens and message boards at Olympic venues during the Games in February.
“I think the most important aspect of our efforts is the many education and advocacy programs we’ve developed over the past several years,” Gleason added. “The public service announcements are really an extension of our Plant It Green 2002 program.”
Plant It Green 2002 is an Internet-based, international program advocating the critical importance of urban forestry and its link to an improved quality of life. The program encourages tree planting, honoring Olympic ideals, and providing a method for global citizenry to obtain information about responsible urban forest stewardship. Plant It Green 2002 encourages anyone, anywhere in the world, who purchases a tree between now and the Salt Lake Games, to register their tree and plant it in the name of the Olympic Winter Games. Participants will receive a recognition certificate congratulating their efforts.
two million tree plantings internationally by February 2002. Through the assistance of several national and international associations, SLOC will far exceed its goal and will have registered more than 18 million trees that have been planted in the name of the Winter Olympic Games around the world.
Through its work with these tree-related associations, SLOC was also instrumental in the formation of the Coalition of United Green Partners. The Coalition, which represents nearly two million individual members and volunteers, comprises businesses, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations, all committed to educating people about the many benefits of urban trees and their care.
The SLOC environment program has been supported by the participation of several Environmental Champions: Anheuser-Busch, Utah Power/Pacificorp, the USDA Forest Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, and Coca-Cola. Additional information on SLOC environment program can be found under the “Games Programs” link on the Winter Olympic Games home page at www.saltlake2002.com
International Society of Arboriculture
