Seeds of Hope project plants trees in U.S. and Ukraine (05/04/97)

Seeds of Hope project plants trees in U.S. and Ukraine

by Chrystia Sonevytsky

WASHINGTON - It was only $10 and a short letter from Brownie Troop 1167, but it made my heart leap with joy. Somewhere, someone out there understood, someone cared!

Let me share this letter with you:

"We are Brownie Troop 1167 from Warminster, Pa. We would like to participate in the Seeds of Hope project. We all think that trees are important to the well-being of the planet, so we have put this project out into the Internet to be circulated throughout the Girl Scout Web Ring, which will eventually be sent worldwide. We hope that a lot of troops join us in this. Thank you for this opportunity to help our planet."

Seeds of Hope is a joint project of the Chornobyl Committee of Washington and American Forest Global ReLeaf. For every $10 donated, two trees are planted. One tree is planted in the Chornobyl Memorial Forest in Florida, and one in Ukraine. A set of 12 notecards by Ukrainian artist Jacques Hnizdovsky is sent to the donor.

That same week another letter arrived, this time from St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral School in Chicago with a generous donation for the Chornobyl Memorial Forests that have been established in Ocklawaha prairie in Marion County, Florida, and reforestation efforts in areas of Ukraine where Chornobyl survivors reside. The check was for $228. Why the odd number? It was a contribution made by the school children who undertook a project to raise funds during the Great Fast of this past Easter season. This made it extra special.

American Forests' Hungarian Global ReLeaf partner in Budapest has named its program Ultess fat Utodaidnak, which means Plant a tree for your inheritors. Indeed, a tree grows slowly and thus is planted for those who shall inherit this world - our children!

The Global ReLeaf program of American Forests allows trees to be planted in many countries on the globe, including the country that is close to so many Ukrainian Americans.

In partnership with the National Ecological Center of Ukraine, American Forests has undertaken a greening program called Zelenyi Nimb Ukrainy, or the Green Halo of Ukraine, for the purpose of planting appropriate trees in areas where they are needed. What a wonderful gift to give a child - one that benefits the immediate as well as the global environment.

Earth Day and Arbor Day were both marked in April, when the beauty of spring is at an unprecedented high because of the rich canopies of trees that begin to bud and flower. In another city across the Atlantic, in Kyiv, the chestnuts and lilacs are about to bloom. Both serve as reminders of the beauty of this planet.

Beverly Nichols said it so beautifully: "Those who plant trees are performing an act of pure picture. They are creating choirs for the sons of innumerable birds and orchestras through which the winds may play an infinity of music. They are giving shelter to a multitude of humble creatures and providing a canvas on which nature may point her fairest pictures. They are enriching the earth and bring the hills nearer to the heavens."

To make a contribution to the reforestation project in Ukraine, please contact: American Forest Global ReLeaf/HN2D Green Halo of Ukraine Porject, P.O. Box 2000, Washington, D.C., 20013 or visit our website at: http://www.amfor.org. Please make checks payable to: American Forests/HN2D.

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