2007 Massachusetts Arbor Day Celebration
“Planting Roots for Our Future”
FACT SHEET
WHAT: The
2007 Massachusetts Arbor Day Celebration
Presented by Eagle Eye Institute and the
Massachusetts YouthBuild Coalition
Simultaneous tree plantings in 13 cities across Massachusetts highlight a state-wide
Arbor Day celebration. The Massachusetts YouthBuild Coalition, in
partnership with Eagle Eye Institute,
will plant more than 200 trees—100 in Boston and at least 100 more in
the 12 other municipalities.
The Arbor Day tree planting at each site will take
place in association with each municipality’s foresters, tree wardens and Massachusetts Department of Conservation
and Recreation (DCR) personnel. The
celebration, funded in part by a DCR Urban Forestry Challenge grant, is
expected to draw state and local leaders in the public, private and non-profit
sectors, as well as local youth and community members.
WHEN: Friday, April 27, 2007
9:00 a.m. to approximately 3:00 p.m.
WHERE: Thirteen locations throughout Massachusetts:
WHY:
·
To showcase the
efforts of YouthBuild students to improve the health of the Commonwealth’s
residents and address global warming
·
To increase the tree canopy especially in low income urban communities,
helping to restore equity across city neighborhoods and bring the health and
economic benefits that trees provide
·
To increase community awareness of the valuable role that trees play in
an urban environment
·
To build community involvement in the care and protection of local urban
trees and their rural forest counterparts
·
To demonstrate
the benefits of organizational partnerships and individual community efforts, resulting
in a positive impact on direct community service
·
To provide opportunities for local service learning (including “hands-on”
participation), related to urban and community forestry, for YouthBuild
students and other community members, with an emphasis on reaching out to
communities of color and other underserved audiences
·
To expand on the success of a similar Arbor Day event held in Boston in 2006
PARTICIPATING
GROUPS:
Eagle Eye Institute develops replicable hands-on
learning, stewardship and career program models, serving urban youth
of color, which build environmental awareness, skills and responsibility. Programs are designed to build meaningful
connections between the natural resource community and communities of color
through active ongoing partnerships and shared experience in the field working
together. Current work focuses on
refining the Green Industry Career Pathway (GICP) program now being implemented
through a partnership with YouthBuild USA and The Trustees of
Reservations. The GICP program model
increases awareness and knowledge about the environment and the value of urban
and community forestry through learning, stewardship and career-bridging
programs.
The
Massachusetts YouthBuild Coalition seeks to provide a forum for the leadership of local
YouthBuild programs to share and develop best practices in the provision of
youth development services. YouthBuild
programs engage unemployed young men and women, most of whom have not completed
high school and all of whom come from low-income families, helping them to
obtain education, job skills and vocational and technical assistance and
training. By collaborating, building
alliances, leveraging partnerships and grant writing, the Massachusetts
YouthBuild Coalition shares its comprehensive youth development expertise and
generates support for its 11 local YouthBuild programs. YouthBuild enables these young adults to
serve their communities by building affordable housing, and assists them in
transforming their own lives and roles in society.
The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and
Recreation (DCR) is steward of one of the largest state parks system in the
country. Its 450,000 acres is made up of
forests, parks, greenways, historic sites and landscapes, seashores, lakes,
ponds, reservoirs and watersheds. DCR’s
Urban and Community Forestry Program assists communities and nonprofit groups
in protecting, growing, and managing community trees and forest ecosystems,
with the ultimate aim of improving the environment and enhancing livability of
all of Massachusetts' communities. The program provides grants,
technical assistance, training, and recognition awards to communities of all
sizes throughout Massachusetts.
FOR
MORE
INFORMATION: Renée Toll-DuBois or Emma Lathan Marty
Bauman or Lisa Patterson, Media Contacts
Eagle Eye Institute Classic
Communications
Phone: (617) 666-5222 Phone:
(508) 698-6810
Email: elathan@eagleeyei.org Email: classic.pr@verizon.net
Website: www.eagleeyeinstitute.org
Susan Staples
Massachusetts YouthBuild Coalition
Phone:
(413) 596-3333
Email: SBDStaples@aol.com
Website: www.youthbuildmassachusetts.org