We are very proud of our three planting partners, RIPPLE Africa, SHI and AIR, who are doing a great job fighting both deforestation and poverty in developing countries. We feel even more proud when we hear about another award or recognition they received that is joining the long list of awards they already have.
So it is our pleasure to update you that Dr. Anne Hallum of the Alliance for International Reforestation (AIR) was presented with the J. Sterling Morton Award, the highest honor given by the Arbor Day Foundation!
Award winners according to the Arbor Day Foundation are recognized for their leadership in the cause of tree planting, conservation,and environmental stewardship.
Congratulations to Dr. Hallum! She definitely deserves it for her ongoing efforts and endless work at AIR. Just to remind you, only last February she has been named one of CNN’s 2011 Heroes!
Here's more about why the Arbor Day Foundation awarded her with the prize (from their website):
Anne Hallum of the Alliance for International Reforestation (A.I.R) in DeLand, Fla., was presented with the J. Sterling Morton Award, the highest honor given by the Arbor Day Foundation. Hallum founded her nonprofit organization to help people in Guatemala by establishing a better, more sustainable quality of life through tree-planting.
The Morton Award is named after J. Sterling Morton, who founded Arbor Day in 1872.
Under Hallum's direction and guidance, the Alliance for International Reforestation has been educating residents in Guatemala and Nicaragua since 1993, working with 25 to 30 villages at a time, each for a period of five years. The staff (all native residents) educates indigenous volunteers about proper tree-planting and agroforestry that will provide sustainable farming as well as protection from frequent and dangerous mudslides. Through proper tree-planting, mountainside erosion is controlled and mudslides are avoided during the harshest of storms.
The native trees planted by local volunteers and farmers help preserve important forests, which have a tremendous impact on the villages. These trees improve nutrition for people and livestock, provide animal habitat, clean the air, protect local water, supply firewood, shade homes and fertilize crops. A.I.R. has worked with more than 110 villages in rural Guatemala and Nicaragua, adding more than 3.7 million trees to the region's rain forest.
You can find more information on AIR at http://www.air-guatemala.org/
Photo credit: Arbor Day Foundation
Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris
Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read
