Today is my birthday and like most other of my adult birthdays, I feel that this day is a special one because I am alive, healthy and living a meaningful life. Yet, when I tell inquiring family and friends I want nothing other than their love for my birthday, I am either given gifts that I don’t need or (because they’ve listened to my wishes) nothing.
Yesterday, it dawned on me that I actually would like gifts for my birthday: trees planted on my behalf. Then I thought of all the other gardeners in the world, who like me, have little use for more ‘things’ in their lives when gift giving time comes around: and who care deeply about the environment.
So, I am suggesting that giving a membership to www.arborday.org or some other non-profit organization where trees are planted (in the recipient’s name if possible), would add meaning to gift giving with great benefits for potentially everyone in the world.
If any bloggers want to join this informal campaign for ‘tree giving’, please sign up with a link back to your site and with a note that you recommend the tree gift giving to your readers. If any of you have ideas on how we might formalize the program under the banner of ‘garden bloggers for trees’ or something a bit edgier, that would be terrific. If not, just posting this idea on your blog and adding some tree sites, would be great. Also, any other not-for-profit tree organizations that you have used and would like added to the list, let me know.
Call me a tree hugger if you want! I don’t care…..I’d rather have a newly planted tree than a cashmere sweater any day!