New Facebook App Helps Promote Timberland's Commitment to Plant Five Million Trees in Five Years

The Timberland Company believes it can help alleviate hunger, create jobs, protect wildlife and preserve the environment, all through the simple act of planting a tree -- make that five million trees, in five years.

It's a bold pledge in support of a bold vision.  And although the notion is pretty simple -- plant some trees, do some good in the world -- Timberland's global reforestation program recognizes that success doesn't come quite as easily as that.

In China, where desertification is a critical issue, Timberland has partnered with GreenNet (a Japan-based NGO) since 2001 to restore the barren land of the Horqin Desert by planting shrubs and trees, while educating local residents so that they can maintain and continue the planting efforts.  In Haiti, Timberland is partnering with nonprofits Trees for the Future and the Yéle Haiti Foundation on Yéle Vert, a community-based agroforestry and environmental education program.

To engage a broader audience in its reforestation efforts, Timberland is launching a new 'Timberland Earthkeepers Virtual Forest' Facebook application.  Consumers can help Timberland plant additional trees in Haiti by creating a virtual forest on Facebook -- the larger the virtual forest, the more real trees planted.  Virtual foresters can name their forest, add messages to friend's trees, and see how they rank against other users.

The application also features videos that introduce the farmers participating in Yéle Vert and provides in-depth information about Timberland's reforestation efforts -- helping users to get better educated about and connected to how their online actions are contributing to the company's programs.

The real-world tree planting component of the virtual forest program is capped at one million trees or the end date of October 31, 2001, whichever comes first.

For the full article, click here.

To start growing your own virtual forest, visit www.Facebook.com/Timberland.