The Arbor Day Foundation has launched a brand new junior membership program, just for kids – the Kids Explore Club! As discussed in a recent USA TODAY cover story, many factors are causing children to spend much less time outdoors exploring nature (“Childhood pastimes are increasingly moving indoors,” by Dennis Cauchon, July 12, 2005). This program encourages children to get away from the video games, television, and computer screens and go outdoors to connect with the world around them.

Studies show that children who spend time exploring and connecting with the natural world develop crucial observation and problem-solving skills that will be important throughout their school years and beyond. Designed especially for children ages 5-11, the Kids Explore Club provides an innovative way to get children outdoors, connect them with nature, and inspire them to appreciate the living world through various activities and adventures.

Kids Explore Club activities are designed to encourage children and adults to spend time together outdoors in their own backyards and neighborhoods. The club is a great way to bring children closer to nature and to their parents, grandparents, and other adults in their lives while helping them develop important skills and an appreciation for the Earth.

To learn more about the Kids Explore Club, visit arborday.org/explore/

SBC Communications Inc. Plants Trees,
Holds Sweepstakes

SBC Communications Inc., the Fortune 50 telecommunications company based in San Antonio, Texas, has launched an exciting "paperless" promotion with its residential and small business phone customers. For each new customer who stops their traditional paper phone bill in favor of the company's MySBC eBill SM service through March 31, 2006, the SBC Family of Companies will contribute $1.00 to The Arbor Day Foundation. This promotion promises to save thousands of trees while supporting the Foundation's tree planting and education programs throughout the country.

In addition, current and new paperless MySBC eBill customers will be eligible for a number of sweepstakes prizes to be given throughout the promotion, ending with a Grand Prize drawing for a 2006 Toyota Prius hybrid car on April 10, 2006. Quarterly prizes, to be awarded in October, January, and April, include gift cards from The Home Depot and six all-expense paid trips to various resorts around the country.

To create a "paperless" promotion, like the one from the SBC Family of Companies, contact Kevin Sander, Corporate Marketing Director, at (402) 473-9543 or ksander@arborday.org.

Emerald Ash Borer

Since 2002, ash trees in southeastern Michigan have been suffering from a little ½-inch long monster that has killed more than 8 million of the species so far.

Larvae of the emerald ash borer, named for its metallic-green color, feed on the inner bark of ash trees, disrupting their ability to transport water and nutrients. While most of the devastation has been limited to southeastern Michigan, the insect has been found in adjacent locations in Ohio and Indiana. The cost to cities, property owners, nursery operators and forest products industries is in the tens of millions of dollars.

To help stop the spread and devastation of the emerald ash borer, several proactive measures are underway. These include various research projects, eradication efforts by state and federal agencies, and quarantines preventing potentially infested trees and wood from moving into uninfested areas.

To find out how you can help, contact Kevin Sander at 402-473-9543.