How to make tree planting cool again?

World Environment Day was celebrated worldwide last Friday. While looking in Grist, one of my favorite green information resources, I found that it extends its "Screw Earth Day Campaign" to the World Environment Day. Moreover, Grist added: Official couldn’t have said it better: Forget tree planting with a link to Cameron Scott's article on SFGate.com "Time to move beyond planting trees". Scott opens with the following:

"Tomorrow is World Environment Day, an international holiday the U.N. implemented shortly after the U.S. created Earth Day. Don't worry, I'm not going to tell you to plant a tree. I'm going to tell you to do something bigger, better, more fun, and less tedious. After all, caring about the world you live in shouldn't feel like going to a funeral (now, pick up the shovel...)."

You can agree or disagree with Grist and Scott, but thinking of it for a while, I found that the most worrying point here is that planting trees might not be so cool anymore! I mean, I know the tree planting is more of an example here given to make a point and I'm sure nor Scott neither Grist have nothing against trees. But at the same time, can you imagine someone making a point with a negative context about local food? I doubt..

Tree planting, once the star in the green skies, just doesn't seem to be that shiny anymore. I guess the example we see here is one reason why it happened - tree planting might be strongly associated with going green and supporting the environment just on one day (Earth Day or World Environment Day), giving people and businesses fake feeling they done their share to combat global warming. It also might be that people just get tired of it - maybe you can't be the green queen forever!

Anyway, I believe Grist and Scott show here that more than all tree planting might have an image problem - it's not about convincing that tree planting is super-duper important, but about making it cool again. So how do you do it? How do you make tree planting cool again?

Here are few ideas I thought about:

1. Learn from the current king - there's no doubt who is now the strongest and most popular green theme - it's local food. It means tree planting needs urgently its own Michael Pollan and Alice Waters, maybe a bestseller like "Omnivore's Dilemma", a movie everyone is talking about for months, and of course it wouldn't hurt if Michelle Obama will plant a nice tree in her garden.

2. Get some celebs to grab a shovel - if Scarlet Johnson or Brad Pitt were doing it (and not only once a year, but on a more regular basis), I'm sure that tree planting won't feel "like going to a funeral", or maybe it will, but everyone would like to join!

3. More fun, less tedious - it doesn't have to involve porn activism (although this one caught even Grist's attention), or guerrilla tactics, but anything that will make tree planting less tedious and more interesting and fun is more than welcome.

4. Get the coolest green biz on board - if green businesses such as TerraCycle, Nau or Better Place will push forward tree planting there's a chance some of their coolness will stick to the trees! Any more ideas? comments? feedbacks? we'll be happy to hear from you!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolbris.net

*The photo at the top of the page is courtesy of our planting partner AIR

5000 trees planted for teacher turned author’s first storybook!

Eco-Libris is proudly partnering for some time with Aaspirations Publishing, a green publisher based in Toronto and publishes books on issues that are often ignored. Today we're happy to announce on 5,000 trees that will be planted for their book ‘Where the Buttercups Grow’!

Not only that one tree is planted for every copy printed, but customers that buy ‘Where the Buttercups Grow’ can electronically adopt one of the 5000 trees planted for ‘Where the Buttercups Grow’ in the name of the one they love. As well as display a message to the person in whose name they adopted the tree. Isn't that awesome or what?

Here's a little bit more about this book which was beautifully written by Shelley Meyer and vividly illustrated by her daughter Tessa Meyer:

What happens when a mother-daughter team combine the beauty of buttercups, the power of storytelling and a great respect of nature to create a wonderful book with amazing art?

In a beautiful field, the buttercups grow, but when two children have no respect for nature, garbage begins to pile up high. Are the days of the buttercups over, or will help come to rescue the buttercups from a fate more deadly than illness? See the difference that children can make when they set their mind to it and decide to take care of Mother Earth.

Beautifully written by Shelley Meyer and vividly illustrated by her daughter Tessa Meyer, this inspiring and powerful story will find a spot on every child's list of favourites, especially when they can carry the story forward in their own lives and plant their very own buttercups. This wonderful title is doubly special because for every book 1 tree has been planted.

Customers that buy ‘Where the Buttercups Grow’ can electronically adopt one of the 5000 trees planted for ‘Where the Buttercups Grow’ in the name of the one they love. As well as display a message to the person in whose name they adopted the tree.

The author Shelly Meyer is a wife and mother of two children. She graduated with a Bachelor of Education Degree from UBC and an Early Childhood Education Certificate. She enjoyed teaching for 5 years and is now the owner and operator of Li’l Munchkin Preschool. Her preschool program encourages care and respect for each other and for the environment. Shelley's mother works with her, and together they hope to teach young children values they can live up to all their lives.

To order your copy of ‘Where the Buttercups Grow,’ visit www.aaspirationspublishing.com and click on the book of the month, or if you are in the area, drop in at the Chapters at Strawberry Hill, 12101 on 72nd Avenue, Surrey, BC V3W 2M1.

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net

Art for All Time is going green with Eco-Libris

We are happy to annonce a new partership with Art for All Time, a unique online boutique for children's Art Photobooks, DVDs and Parties.

Art for All Time is partnering with Eco-Libris to offer its customers the opportunity to plant one tree with each Art Photobook purchase and the company will double the do-good feeling by matching, in the customer's honor, with the planting of one additional tree.

Art for All Time is an online boutique to create customized Art Photobooks and DVD Slideshows of children's art. As an exclusive offering for New York City parents, the company also plans Premium Art Birthday Parties that can be personalized for children of all ages.

Mom-owned and mom-operated, this venture was started by Corena Young-Dixon, a stay-at-home mom who cherished her daughter’s art, yet was unsatisfied with the standard children’s art photobooks available from mass retailers and print-on-demand companies. She wanted to bring a premiere children’s art photobook to the market, and so she did.

This small business hopes to meet the needs of discerning moms, from New York City and beyond, who desire a luxury Art Photobook or DVD as a simple, yet chic way to handle cherished artwork that verges on becoming clutter.

Art for All Time hopes to grow the company with customers who return annually for customized services to create children's Art Photobooks and Art DVDs or to design personalized Art Birthday Parties. Art for All Time is proud to celebrate children’s artistic development, year by year!

You can learn more about Art for All Time and their products on their website - http://www.artforalltime.net and don't forget to check out their gallery!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net

The first green assassin!

Our friends at Do the Green Thing always surprise us with great green stuff, combining wit and a great sense of humor.

This time we're talking about sustainable food or if to be precise why you should consume vegetables when they are in the season (hint: it's not only the better taste..).

Here is some more info on this video from Do the Green Thing's website:

The story of a man with a gun and a mission - to eliminate all instances of unseasonal vegetable consumption.

Written and directed by the brilliant Michael 'Watercress' Wright and starring the magnificent Daniel 'Legume' Lapaine with deft editing by Simon 'Water Celery' Wilcox and a purringly perfect soundtrack by Michael 'Mango' Mertens. Produced by the kind people at Mustard in association with the equally kind people at Eat Seasonably. Huge thanks to all.

Enjoy the video!



Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net

Two ABA stars at BEA: Matt Supko, the developer of the indieBound iPhone App, and Gary Vaynerchuk

Technology got more attention this year at the BEA. We already mentioned here Google and their plans to sell e-books, but even more interesting was all the buzz around social media and its growing role in the marketing efforts of publishers and authors. But not only them.

Actually one of the most successful examples is coming from ABA (American Booksellers Association) that its indieBound application for iPhones, or iPhone App is one of the most popular ones.

What you can do with it? here are few examples from indieBound website:

• Browse indie bookseller recommendation lists (The Indie Next List, The Kids Indie Next List) and bestseller lists (The Indie Bestseller Lists)
• Search for books from a comprehensive database of in-print titles
• Review detailed book information
• Buy books online from indie bookstores
• Find local, indie bookstores nearby, or across the United States
• Find other independently-owned businesses, like coffee shops, movie theaters, and bicycle stores

You can download it for free at the App store.

GalleyCat caught up with Matt Supko, the developer of this application and if you want to learn a little bit more about the world of Apps developers you should check out this video:



Speaking of social media, ABA also had another great panel with Gary Vaynerchuk, who is a successful self-made man, the author of the upcoming book "Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion" and one of the most talented and funny presenters I have seen.

He talked about his experience with Wine Library and gave tips how indie bookstores should build their brand equity over the internet using their strengths to differentiate themselves from other retailers and succeed in their business.

Vaynerchuk's gave its presentation just few hours before his his first baby Misha was born, so congrats to Gary! Enjoy his presentation - it's more than hour long but this thought-provoking presentation definitely worths your time!




Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net

And the winner in our giveaway of The Adventures of an Aluminum Can' is...

Following our review of the book last week, we had a giveaway of one copy of "The Adventures of an Aluminum Can: A Story About Recycling".

We asked you to share with us what is the material or item you or your kids really really like to recycle. We got great responses and we have a winner!

Our winner is Cindy who chose aluminum cans and wrote the following:

My 4 year old is in charge of our recycling. I think he mostly enjoys the aluminum cans as they make great noise when you dump them in the bin all at once!

Congrats Cindy! You won a copy of The Adventures of an Aluminum Can: A Story About Recycling and we will also plant with our planting partners one tree for this book. We also wish to thank all the other participants.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net

Bambeco is collaborating with Eco-Libris!

Bambeco, an online retailer of eco-friendly and stylish products for the home, is collaborating now with Eco-Libris!

Bambeco is planting a tree with Eco-Libris for every book purchased on the website. Buyers will also receive Eco-Libris sticker ("One tree planted for this book") with every book they purchase.

Bambeco has a collection of green books, including Big Green Purse, Green Remodeling, true green, Living Like Ed and others. So now these great green books will come with a new tree and our "One tree planted for this book" sticker at no extra cost to the buyer!

Bambeco is a great online store and you can find there great green stuff. They're very passionate about the environment as you can see from their commitment:

At Bambeco, we make it easy for you to live your values without sacrificing quality and price. As you browse our web store, you’ll discover a wealth of stylish and modern products carefully selected to advance a more sustainable and just world.

• Our innovative products are made from materials that are all-natural, biodegradable, nontoxic, organic, recycled, recyclable, repurposed or renewable.
• Our distribution process is designed to be as energy efficient as possible as we move toward our goal of becoming carbon neutral.
• Our shipping materials are made of recycled and biodegradable materials whenever possible.
• Our shippers are committed to reducing their own carbon footprints.
• We place a high value on human dignity, and strive to ensure that those involved in the creation of our products are paid a fair wage and provided with a safe, healthy work environment.

Bambeco works with partners, suppliers and artisans who share these values.

You're welcome to learn more on the green products offered on Bambeco (including the books) at http://www.bambeco.com

Yours,
Raz @Eco-Libris
www,ecolibris.net