The Great America Planting Celebration -
A Tribute to FDR's Civilian Conservation Corps

Our country is at its greatest when we see that people are in trouble and we respond by giving a hand making our world a better place. Today we Americans are in environmental trouble and need help ourselves. Now is the time to engage in Americans of all walks to plant trees. Whether citizens wish to lessen global warming or to beautify a neighborhood, people long to show they care. What better way to bring our community together then attract people from the city, suburbs and the countryside working together planting trees. Also such a campaign i.e. (Be Cool, Plant Trees) can join groups, organizations, governments, businesses of all facets to come together celebrating that by planting trees. We can enriched people of all walks with directly saving our land and invest in greater well being.

Citizens engaged in conserving our land allows Americans to directly show love of country. There is no better time or need then to challenge America of all walks to get their shovel out and plant trees. Global warming, water pollution control, involving youth in civilian conservation and other benefit will result if we can create the opportunity to make this a reality. Planting trees conserve energy, reduce stormwater run-off, beautify surroundings, and create additional community and socio-economic benefits. There are other invaluable resources developed - our youth and the link that preserving our land helps our collective well-being. Let's learn from history and activate American youth to preserve their outdoors and plant new life. Children planting trees directly invests them to importance of future conservation work and the importance of public service.

To celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the creation of the CCC, The Corps Network and the CCC Legacy Foundation will launch a campaign to raise awareness of the CCC, modern Corps and the benefits of planting trees to society and the environment. This campaign will include an event on CCC Day, March 31st, 2008, and will conclude on Public Lands Day in September of 2008. Throughout the campaign Service and Conservation Corps and other partners will complete a variety of tree planting projects and hold local media events that bring together CCC alumni with the Corps members of today. This campaign will also be linked to The Corps Network's federal policy efforts to engage more young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, on public lands. In the process of our efforts we may also invite other organizations into a nation-wide tree planting campaign concentrating on children and others to pay tribute by a challenge, "two billion trees planting in the next five years to help reforest America of trees because of the formation of the CCC. Exploring additional efforts can further promote our mission is to get children involved in conservation activities so to benefit from this rich legacy of direct experience in showing respect for our natural resources.

The CCC served as a catalyst to develop the very tenants of modern conservation. By investigating dynamic partnerships with diverse organizations our efforts maybe can further promote this tree planting campaign. For example uniting all together tree planting activities in American today can be as simple as developing an umbrella interactive web site networking all the efforts into one national and promotional outreach program. Similar to Johnny Appleseed, Franklin Delano Roosevelt when he first became elected established the CCC, the single greatest conservation movement in history. His love for trees and getting the young outdoors to save the land, FDR commented was getting them to become shareholders in our country's future.

In closing, by developing this Be Cool, Plant Trees campaign we can tap inspirational leaders to champion this endeavor. History teaches us the power of once again of how powerful Americans care for life. Finally, tree samplings, shovels, dirt and human hands can bond together an American celebration benefiting our collective hearts, minds and souls. Let's pass the shovel now for this legacy only will continue if we may learn from the wisdom of our ages and pass on to the youth with action. Tree planting is cool!