For Immediate Release
Photos available to media use by clicking here.

CONTACT:
Joanna Nasar McWilliams
Communications Director
Turtle Island Restoration Network
Cell: (415) 488-7711
Joanna@SeaTurtles.Org

Olema, Calif. (June 28, 2016) – Turtle Island Restoration Network (SeaTurtles.Org) 10,000 Redwoods Project (10000redwoods.org) is a local on-the-ground effort to fight climate change with the simple act of planting redwood trees to sequester carbon. The goal is to plant 10,000 redwoods in the San Francisco Bay Area, and involve schools in the process of growing these towering trees. Marin High School Student and Eagle Scout Liam Birmingham learned about our 10,000 Redwoods Project, and decided to devote his time to assisting Turtle Island achieve this goal.

Birmingham built ten redwood propagation benches for participating Bay Area schools to use to grow redwood seedlings. Birmingham got supplies for the benches donated by his Eagle Scout Troop (Troop 59), and is currently fundraising to install misting systems to the benches. This will serve as Birmingham’s Eagle Scout final project.

“I was inspired to support the 10,000 Redwood Project because it gives kids in the Bay Area a chance to not only learn about climate change, but actually do something about it by growing native redwood trees,” said Birmingham. “It’s cool to think that hundreds or even thousands of years from now these trees will be a part of the landscape,” he added.

Thanks to Birmingham’s contribution, and Turtle Island’s partnership with the NOAA Bay Area Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program at least 25 Bay Area schools will be able to grow redwood trees in their classrooms this school year. Classes will learn about redwood ecology, climate change, and students will get to investigate the importance of redwoods in healthy river ecosystems. With Turtle Island’s guidance students will collect redwood seedlings, restore creekside habitat, learn about the connection between salmon and redwoods, explore the connections between ocean acidification and climate change, and develop stewardship projects at their schools to reduce their own carbon footprints.

At the end of the school year, the redwood trees grown in the benches built by Birmingham will be collected and cared for in Turtle Island’s native plant nursery. Each school will keep the propagation benches so that they can continue to grow native plants for their school in the future.

Redwood Trees to Fight Climate Change

Redwood trees store more carbon per hectare than any other tree on Earth. In fact, a hectare of redwoods sequesters enough carbon to remove 95 passenger vehicles from the roads for a year.

Due to overharvesting, only five percent of the original old-growth coast redwood trees remain. Now, these iconic trees are listed as “endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This loss impacts critically endangered coho salmon and other wildlife.

The fact that redwoods are fast growing, massive, long-lived, rot resistant, easy to cultivate, and awe-inspiring, make them the ideal icon for action on climate change, and a wonderful gift to the planet and a graduate.

Adopt a Redwood

Redwood adoptions can be made securely online at www.10000Redwoods.org, and start for as little as $100.

All adoptions include:

  • a Certificate of Adoption,
  • the option to name the adopted tree,
  • a redwood seedling,
  • the GPS location of the tree when planted, and
  • a photo of the tree on our www.10000Redwoods.org website.

Individuals also have the option of personally planting their tree, and others with Turtle Island at a planting restoration event in the winter.

Visit www.10000Redwoods.org to adopt a redwood today and learn more.

Photos available to media use by clicking here.

###

Turtle Island Restoration Network works to mobilize people and communities around the world to protect marine wildlife, the oceans and the inland waterways that sustain them. Join us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. SeaTurtles.Org