Love Trees Leadership Award of Merit Awarded To Jon T. High For Planting Trees With Orphans And Vulnerable Children In Kenya

Online, January 20, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Love Trees is honoured to award the 2011 Love Trees Leadership Award of Merit to Jon T. High, Team Leader at Teule Kenya. Jon lead a successful 2011 Tree Planting event sponsored by Love Trees in honour of Nobel Laureate Wangari Mathai. He planted 100 fruit trees with orphans and vulnerable children in Oloitokitok, on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro - an area that has suffered considerable deforestation.

"Love Trees is TREE-mendously impressed with Jon's dedication to children and trees," said Andrea Koehle Jones, founder and executive director, Love Trees. "This type of leadership is the heart of Love Trees."

Jon and Teule Kenya children planted mango, papaya, guava, mulberry, lukward, passion fruit, grape, banana, apple, lemon and orange trees.

"I am deeply humbled about the award," said Jon. I want to play my little part and see how we can get all people - especially the children involved in our lives - to know how enriching and rewarding it is to take care of Nature (especially trees) and the endless benefits that come from that... Thank you Love Trees for this opportunity!"

In developing countries, a Love Tree is truly a "tree of life" as it can alleviate hunger, foster self-sufficiency, provide natural disaster tree relief, combat global warming and improve nearby soil, air and water.

"There's something so hopeful about planting trees with kids," said Koehle Jones. "Kids are the future stewards of the environment. They're concerned about the state of the planet and eager to help. I've seen the magic that happens when you give a child a tree - let's give as many children as we can a Love Tree to plant."

Love Trees manages a global children's educational tree planting program. Since 2006, Love Trees has given thousands of trees to school children around the world, empowering them by also providing them with the tools and skills to be active stewards of the environment.

Teule Kenya, meaning "Chosen one ," helps orphaned and vulnerable children by providing them with love, shelter, proper nourishment, education healthcare and guidance. Increasingly Teule Kenya is dealing with children orphaned or made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS and Maasai girls rescued from FGM and early marriage.

HostPapa Green Web Hosting was awarded the 2011 Love Trees Partnership Award of Merit today in honour of HostPapa's super-successful 2011 Earth Day Facebook Awareness Campaign which raised enough money to give 10,000 children trees in Malawi and Zambia. One tree was planted for every Facebook LIKE to the company's site.

"It's exciting to partner with a hosting company that is taking powerful steps to green the internet by helping kids and the planet," said Andrea Koehle Jones, founder and executive director, Love Trees. "Thanks for helping to make the world a better place and thanks for helping Love Trees grow."

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http://www.lovetrees.ca/news/